Jacqueline Saper, is an Iranian-American writer, translator, and a public speaker.
Jacqueline was born and raised in a Jewish family in Tehran, in an idyllic time during the 1960s and 1970s. She is the daughter of an Iranian father from Isfahan, and an English mother from London. Jacqueline spent the first eighteen years of her life going to school, traveling internationally, and freely attending social activities in an Imperial Iran, governed by a Western leading Monarch or the “Shah.”
Jacqueline lived through the turbulent 1979 upheaval that resulted in the return of Ayatollah Khomeini and the establishment of the Islamic Republic of Iran. That same year, on the cusp of the Iranian revolution, she married and relocated to the southern city of Shiraz. She continued to live in the Islamic Republic of Iran as a young mother, until finally immigrating to the United States in 1987.
Saper graduated (Summa Cum Laude) with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business from Northeastern Illinois University and received the designation of Certified Public Accountant from the Board of Examiners of the University of Illinois. She has served as a faculty member at Oakton Community College in Des Plaines. Active in the community, she has also spent most of her career in synagogue management and as a Jewish educator. Jacqueline is also a graduate of the ‘Hadassah Leadership Academy’ and the ‘Florence Melton School (Morasha)’ for educators.
Jacqueline began public speaking when she realized that there was an immense interest in her story and unique background. Her primary presentation “From Mini-Skirts to Hijab” recounts personal stories and utilizes family photographs to help the audience understand what life was like in Iran, pre and post revolution, from the point of view of someone who has been an eyewitness to history.
Ms. Saper’s other lectures, workshops, and seminars, delve into an understanding of the Middle East in general and Iran specifically. Topics covered include but are not limited to: Iran 101, religion, non-fiction, diverse communities, history, and current events. Such presentations provide a fresh perspective and new content on Iran’s rich history, culture, people, and government. Her lively presentations are accompanied with anecdotes that give context to current issues such as US-Iran relations, human rights, and the state of the religious minorities.
Jacqueline’s speaking engagements are fact based and non-partisan. The primary objective of each lecture is to educate the audience members about a topic that is of significant interest and importance.
