Dr. Rahimi

A Strong History

Dr. Mohammad J. Rahimi is an Afghan-American civil rights advocate who serves as a Delegate for Assembly District 79 in the California Democratic Party and President of the East County Democratic Club in San Diego. Dr. Rahimi was elected as a delegate in 2023 to serve for two years, and he is committed to protecting justice, promoting diversity, and defending democracy.

To serve his communities successfully, Dr. Rahimi spent a great deal of his life learning and equipping himself with the necessary knowledge and skills. That is why he earned two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. Dr. Rahimi earned his first master’s degree (LL.M) in U.S. Law and Policy and his second master’s degree in Public Administration at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California. During his LL.M. studies, Dr. Rahimi interned at the California State Assembly, where he advanced his knowledge in the legislative process.

Then, he completed his Ph.D. in the Leadership program at Alliant International University in San Diego, California. While writing his Ph.D. dissertation, Dr. Rahimi interned at the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, where he served on a historic 20-year analysis of the Afghanistan Lessons Learned Project, researching the Department’s goals, policies, strategies, and programs implemented in Afghanistan from 2002-2021. Dr. Rahimi completed his Virtual Student Federal Service Internship at the Department of State, and he was awarded the Intern of the Year (2023). Due to his outstanding performance on INL’s Afghanistan Lesson Learned Project, Dr. Rahimi received a certificate of appreciation from the Assistant Secretary of State, Todd D. Robinson.

Before immigrating to the United States, Dr. Rahimi worked as a local Rule of Law Attorney for the U.S. Army. Also, he worked as Chief of Staff to the Governor before becoming Acting Lieutenant Governor in Afghanistan.

During his educational journey in the United States, Dr. Rahimi worked with different organizations and found himself belonging to the communities. While completing his master’s degree in Sacramento, Dr. Rahimi worked at Next Move, where he helped people experiencing homelessness to get support and return to their normal lives. During his Ph.D. studies in San Diego, Dr. Rahimi worked at Jewish Family Services and helped Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) recipients and other immigrants and refugees obtain legal status and renew their immigration documents. In addition, Dr. Rahimi worked at the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR-SD), where he continued his civil rights advocacy and advocated for Americans regardless of faith, color, and background.

Dr. Rahimi calls himself a lover of justice and defender of democracy and believes that people’s political engagement and participation is the best weapon against injustices and dictatorship. That is why he researched his Ph.D. dissertation in leadership styles, political systems, and people’s political engagement. Dr. Rahimi states that “through political engagement, we can make our choices seen and our voices heard.

Dr. Rahimi loves speaking Spanish, hiking, swimming, and playing tennis.