Arzo Mehdavi

Arzo was born in San Leandro, California to Muslim immigrant parents from Afghanistan and raised in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area. She is currently an Emergency Nurse and resident of Hayward, CA. She’s also currently the Chairperson for Hayward’s Community Services Commission. In 2016, she became a member of the Anti-discrimination Taskforce for the City of Hayward. On June 6, 2017, based on the Task Force’s recommendation, the Hayward City Council voted and formally declared Hayward a Sanctuary City.
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When she’s not working in the Emergency Department, she spends her time engaging with the community and volunteering for various causes. One such cause was spearheading relief efforts for victims of the Northern California fires. She’s also passionate about helping local immigrant families receive needed healthcare and resources. Social justice and activism are some of her passions!

Most recently, she’s been recognized for some of her work as a nurse on the Covid Frontline and as a Community leader. Kaiser Permanente Northern California awarded her Regional Extraordinary Nurse of 2019. In April of 2020, she was the first recipient of Congressman Eric Swalwell’s CA-15 Community Hero Awards. She was also selected as one of Assemblymember Bill Quirk’s 2021 Women of the Year.