Shahriar A. Tafti

Appointed to the Board by the Associated Directors for the Appointment of Student Trustees, Inc. in 2026. Term expires 2028. Raised in Tehran, Iran. Shahriar is a Neuroscience Ph.D. student at the University of Vermont, concurrently completing a certification in Complex Systems and Data Science. He earned a B.A. in Computer Science with a Neuroscience concentration and minors in Psychology and German from Kalamazoo College, and completed three intensive summer immersions at the Middlebury College German School. At UVM, Shahriar is a Graduate Research Assistant in the Epilepsy Cognition Development Lab, engineering computational pipelines to research childhood epilepsy and autism. As a Graduate Teaching Assistant and founder of the UVM NeuroBuddy program, he built a structured network connecting undergraduates with peers, graduate, and medical students for academic mentorship and career-building workshops. Prior to UVM, Shahriar built a strong record of facilitating institutional dialogue and bridging communities. At Kalamazoo College, as President of the Environmental Conservation Organization, he directed a data-driven campaign securing fossil fuel divestments. He guided students through transformative global experiences as a Study Abroad Advisor, and spearheaded state-wide religious literacy initiatives as an Interfaith Dialogue Leader. Extending his commitment to student welfare and mindfulness, Shahriar holds a 200-Hour First See The Good Yoga Teacher Certification.