Arash Ghafoori is the Executive Director of the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY), Southern Nevada’s most comprehensive service provider for homeless youth. Since becoming NPHY’s Executive Director in 2012, Arash has led an agency-wide overhaul and rejuvenation, growing NPHY into a more effective, efficient, and sustainable direct service provider, while turning NPHY into a community leader on issues affecting Southern Nevada’s most vulnerable population. With a passion for policy and systems-level thinking, Arash is active in the national and local movements to end youth homelessness, serving in leadership roles on the Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care Board, National Safe Place Advisory Board, and a variety of local and national committees and working groups. Over the past five years, Arash has also spoken at national, state, and local conferences, forums, and panels on best practices in serving homeless youth and incorporating sound business practices into non-profit management.

Arash’s experience includes 11 years in multidisciplinary backgrounds ranging from start-up and corporate environments to academic and policy environments. Holding a joint B.A. in International Relations and Political Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and an M.A. in Economics from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, Arash’s unique perspective allows him to analyze and leverage intersections between business, policy, and community systems to benefit the social services sector. Arash was honored in 2014 as a “40 Under 40” business trailblazer by Vegas Inc. and received the 2016 Executive Leadership Award from National Safe Place and the Green Chips Sustainable Leadership Award for 2017.