Mandana Dayani and her family immigrated to the US from Iran as refuGees when she was six years old. The move allowed him to “live The American Dream“, says Dayani The entrepreneur — and left him with a “deep sense of patriotism” for the country that “saved his life.” Dayani says her gratitude is part of why she's been doing “some version of activism” for as long as she can remember.

^{Image Credit: Courtesy of I Am a Voter. Mandana Dayani.}

Then, about six years ago, when she was at home parental leave with her second daughter, Dayani was watching TV, watching families seeking refuge in the US being separated at the border.

“When you think about what someone has to endure to leave their home and come to our country because our Statue of Liberty told them so, and at that moment after everything they've endured, to have their child physically taken away from them someone, it was the worst thing I've ever seen our country do,” says Dayani.

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Dayani, who has a background as a lawyer and talent agent with experience in brand building AND marketingmet with members of the Senate and Congress and asked what she could do with her expertise to make an impact. They told her that if she really wanted to make long-term changes, the country needed greater voter turnout.

What if we own this identity as something that is so integral to ourselves?

“I think I had it Legally blonde the moment of What if it's hard?says Dayani.

After all, DEALERS AND brand builders inspire people to take action all the time: Convince them to see a Marvel movie or buy Justin Bieber's latest album. Dayani felt that the same principles would apply to galvanizing voters. So she quit her job and with the help of 25 other women and The Creative Artists Agency (CAA) Foundation, she founded the non-partisan organization. I am a voter (IAAV) in 2018.

The organization's first meeting focused on its new client: voting. The IAAV had to figure out how to get people to wait in line in November and be freed from “all the fighting and shaming that goes on in these spaces.” Dayani read about the link between voter identity and the likelihood of habitual voting and decided to build on that concept: What if we own this identity as something integral to ourselves and something we would find aspirational in others?

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Achieving this with younger generations means meeting them where they are and tapping into the brands, celebrities and sports teams they already know and trust, according to Dayani. IAAV has collaborated with celebrities including Hailey Bieber, Kerry Washington, Steph Curry and brands such as NBA, NFL, Tory BurchUrban Outfitters, Rhode and hundreds more.

“Here's your PSA when you're at the AMC theater,” says Dayani. “We are with you Bumble application; we're on your jumbotron when you're watching a sports game. If you are getting a package from Shopbop, there is an insert. We went to a lot of these brands and just asked them what they had available to contribute.”

“We're not playing on this color spectrum. We're just here for everybody.”

IAAV is also intended for creating a brand identity this is attractive and not disruptive. To that end, the organization's Instagram feed is entirely black and white.

“We're not red, we're not blue, we're not purple,” Dayani explains. “We're not playing on this color spectrum. We're just here for everybody. And we really rely on facts, which I think also registers with people because we're not trying to convince them of one ideology or another or “we show them how to think”.

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Additionally, the organization strives to create fun and dynamic campaigns that drive its mission. For example, studies show that communication between people with pre-existing relationships can have a positive impact on voter turnout, so IAAV leaned into this with “Register a Friend Her Day,” noting “friends don't let friends pass the election” and asking for the help of Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox and Lisa Kudrow Friends.

“Applying some of these principles of marketing and brand building has been really effective.”

“It just went so viral,” Dayani recalls. “It felt like such a fun cultural moment. And it was one of our highest voter registration days. So I think by applying some of those principles of marketing AND brand building with these wonderful messengers it has been really effective.”

Today, IAAV has reached more than two million people on social media. The organization also collaborated with Number of Headsa non-partisan organization working with musicians to promote participation in democracy. “To be able to leverage their expertise and experience within the whole framework of what the IAAV is trying to do is amazing,” says Dayani.

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In late September, the IAAV announced its inaugural list of “Heroes of Democracy” in partnership with MSNBC Morning JoeRockefeller Center and HeadCount. The list features 25 civic leaders working to ensure their communities and marginalized voters have their voices heard at the polls.

“It's been 30 years since we passed the National Voter Registration Act, and voters in nearly half of our country will face new voting restrictions this the elections“So to be able to show people across the country working to change that — I thought that was such a hopeful and beautiful way to go into this next month.”