Dr. Mafinezam is a public policy expert with a focus on think tanks, the relationship between academia and government, as well as diversity, pluralism, and multiculturalism. He co-Founded the Mosaic Institute in Toronto, and previously worked as its Director of Research. He has also worked as a consultant to the International Development Research Centre, the Royal Society of Canada, the UN-mandated University for Peace, and the Geneva-based Centre for Applied Studies in International Negotiations.

He received his BA from the University of Western Ontario, and Master's and Ph.D. degrees from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, where he wrote a dissertation on the history and current condition of American think tanks. His work has been published in the Literary Review of Canada, Philadelphia Inquirer, Toronto Star and others. He has also written on Iran, Eurasia, and U.S. foreign policy.

His book Iran and Its Place Among Nations was published by the Connecticut-based Greenwood Publishing Group in 2008.