[1] After graduating from high school, Khalatbari earned an associate degree in architectural-engineering technology from the Milford campus of Southeast Community College at the age of 19.

[2] Khalatbar co-founded and funds birdy, an alternative culture magazine out of Denver featuring artwork, articles, and creative writing pieces from journalists, comedians, artists, and other local talent.

expanded its print run to 10,000 copies in cities including Denver, Los Angeles, Seattle, Fort Collins, Boulder, and Manitou Springs.

[5] Khalatbari co-founded Denver Relief, a medical and adult-use cannabis dispensary, in May 2009; since regular business funding was unavailable, they founders used their own money.

[10] He has worked with client groups in Illinois, Nevada, Maryland, Alaska, and Canada, advocating reform and creating business plans and applications for partners to establish operations in each.

Oreva Capital now holds the controlling interest with a team additionally made up of Reggae legend Damian Marley and other notable cannabis entrepreneurs.

I feel it’s incumbent on me as a business leader and community organizer to engage people and give them hope that they can make a difference.”[22] Khalatbari ended his campaign citing "personal reasons" in October 2018.

[2] Khalatbari started volunteering for the organization, collecting petition signatures and staging political protests[29] in an effort to pass Initiated Question 100 (I-100).

[31] Chickenlooper also took part in a photo opp to protest Colorado's controversial "Don't Be a Lab Rat" campaign, aimed at curbing underage marijuana use.

The model legislation will provide a guide for policy makers across the country to reform marijuana laws in a way that makes cannabis business ownership accessible to minorities, provides drug war reparations via marijuana tax revenue to communities of color, calls for stronger legal protections for those who use cannabis and allows for expungement of marijuana-related convictions that are no longer illegal under new laws.

[38][39] As a member of the MCBA, Khalatbari has raised concerns about how this model legislation is being implemented in some states, such as Illinois where he believes it will have the opposite of its intended effect and make it more difficult for minorities to enter the cannabis industry in an equitable way due to the short application window and high costs.

[40] A video he posted to his social media account, of Denver Police Department Officers confiscating blankets from homeless people in freezing conditions went viral.

Kayvan's video made the front page of the Huffington Post and prompted civil rights organizations such as the ACLU and NAACP to write letters and threaten lawsuits against Mayor Michael Hancock and the City of Denver.

[41] Facing pressure, Mayor Hancock lifted the "urban camping ban" until April 2017 to get the homeless population through cold winter months.

[42] In March 2017, he found success as a principal member of the Alternative Solutions Advocacy Project (ASAP) by helping to get the first tiny-home village for the homeless approved in Denver.

[46][47][48] In July 2018, the Barton Institute for Philanthropy and Social Enterprise at the University of Denver issued a study which concluded that the project has been a success for the overall community.