Nina's Newest Challenge: Relay for Life

For Nina Mohadjer, the new chairwoman of Ridgefield's 2010 Relay for Life, everything begins with being there.

“I feel there is so much to do in this world. If someone is incapable or in need, I feel obligated to cheer them, to help them if I can,” she said.

And she has involved plans for her part in the American Cancer Society’s largest fund-raising event, including starting her efforts with an official Relay fundraiser meant to reach out to both experienced and new participants, she said on Wednesday from our table at Cafe Svago.

Cancer has touched nearly half of Mohadjer's family and very close friends on several continents, she said. Born in Iran and raised in Germany, Mohadjer has lived in Ridgefield for the past 14 years but has contacts worldwide.

“It is a very personal matter for me, and I have fears for my children,” she said. “Cancer is life changing. It doesn’t care how old you are, your gender, nationality, religion or political choice. It changes those who suffer and the survivors and their families. I am here to give them hope. As human beings, our hope gives them strength."

Last year, Mohadjer helped with Relay registration. This year, as chairwoman, she will oversee all aspects of the event, from promotion to setting up tents to working closely with each of the executive and subcommittee leaders that help organize hundreds of people for the overnight event.

Ridgefield's Relay for Life will take place at Ridgefield High School on June 11, 2010. The official kickoff for the event will be in February, but Mohadjer has extensive plans in the works and looks forward to holding several informational and promotional events between now and June.

But Mohadjer's interest in making a difference extends beyond Relay for Life. She was the first Iranian-American to run for public office in Connecticut. While she lost her bid for a seat on the Board of Education earlier this month, she said she sees that experience as one which will allow her touch many people in her fight against cancer.

“Through the people I have met during my run for the Board of Education, I hope to partner with groups on all levels to become involved with the event,” she said. She has also been part of the Parent Teacher Association and involved in the school system, where her daughters, Simin and Shirin Hashemian, are in eighth and ninth grade. Mohadjer can also be found regularly at town meetings, keeping in touch with what’s going on in town.

In addition to being a mother, daughter, sister and newly-minted chairwoman, Mohadjer works full time as a legal consultant in New York representing a pharmaceutical company. She earned her law degree in Germany, a Masters of Law from Pace University and an MBA from Western Connecticut State University. Fluent in five languages, she is currently learning Arabic to top the list of German, English, French, Italian and Persian.

She said her current career has a direct relation to her work on Relay for Life.

“I now see how research and development takes place in the pharmaceutical world," Mohadjer said. "I understand the stages of study and the way the process works in step from the clinical, chemical and scientific to the physician prescribing a pill."

She hopes that her clinical eye coupled with a clear passion will help Ridgefield’s Relay for Life succeed.

"When you participate in the Relay and you see a cancer survivor, you know that you took a step in their survival. My goal is to engage every single person in Ridgefield to give to the Relay for Life in some way, by donating time, participating or engaging others to bring growth to the event,” she said.

To get involved in Relay for Life, contact Nina Mohadjer or visit to the American Cancer Society’s Web site for more information.