Atilla Ozdemir (Board)
He is an entrepreneur and has lived in the DMV area for the last 8 years. He has over 25 years of management and food industry experience in various positions. He is the co-owner of Fairfax Bakery American and Mediterranean Café in Fairfax, VA since November 2018 besides importing Turkish food products from Turkey. He earned Tourism and Hotel Management from Bilkent University and Hospitality Management from UCF and Business degree from Seminole State. He currently lives in McLean, VA with his wife, son and daughter. He has been an ATA-DC board member since 2019.
Burcu Yuksel (Board)
Burcu Yuksel is an energetic and athletic Physical Education teacher with over 6 years of teaching experience at the middle and high school levels. In addition, she’s a former basketball player, whose career spans over 15 years, having played at the high school, collegiate and professional levels in Turkey. Ms. Yuksel also holds basketball officiating licenses in both Turkey and the United States, and has over 15 years of refereeing experience – 12 years in the Turkish Professional League and 3 years at the high school varsity level in the United States.
Busra Kayı Tarhan (Board)
Busra Kayı Tarhan was born and raised in Istanbul Cihangir . She graduated from Golden Horn University in American Language and Literature. Afterwards, she worked as an English teacher while in Turkey. As an art lover she took part in many areas of art such as painting, music, fashion design and photography. When she decided to go to the conservatory at Müjdat Gezen Art Center, she was inspired, and music became her passion. After the conservatory, she had many opportunities to perform at several Turkish community events and festivals organized by ATA-DC. Now she is actively reaching her listeners with her acoustic live performances on her YouTube channel. She has been in Washington DC almost 10 years with her husband and her son whose name is Barış which means “peace “ Peace at Home , Pease in the World “ Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
Demet Cabbar (Board)
Demet is a development finance and partnerships specialist with more than 20 years of experience in the World’s largest Multilateral International Development Agencies, including the World Bank and the IMF. Born in Istanbul and raised in Tekirdag, Demet moved to the US in 1996 to continue her education. She has been a Board Member of the American Turkish Association of Washington, DC since 2003 and served as its President for three terms between 2007 and 2013. Demet has been involved in the organization of the award-winning DC Turkish Festival since its inception and has held one of the critical leadership roles in growing and expanding the festival into a vibrant DC tradition. During her Presidency, she launched the Turkish Cuisine and Restaurant week, Turkish Heritage Month and ATA-DC networking happy hours as well as ATA-DC’s International Women’s Day Activities that raise awareness of domestic violence and honor crimes against women and raise funds for organizations that deal with these issues. Most recently, she has been leading ATA-DC’s Young Cultural Ambassador Program. Demet served as the Capital Region VP for the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) between 2008 and 2013. Demet is a co-founder, active dancer and instructor of the Kardelen Turkish Dance Ensemble. Demet holds a BS degree in Management Engineering from Istanbul Technical University. She earned a Joint MBA/MA Degree in International Affairs and International Business and a MS Degree in Finance from George Washington University.
Elvan Ramazanogullari (Board)
Elvan Ramazanogullari currently serves as a member of the board of ATA-DC.
Born and raised in the DMV area, from a young age, Elvan has been deeply engaged in the Turkish-American community. She attended ATA-DC and MATA’s Turkish schools growing up and dedicated numerous years to volunteering for Turkish Children Foster Care, a non-profit organization based in the United States. Elvan is not just committed to volunteering her time for the Turkish-American community, but is also very active in her local community in Virginia as well.
Elvan currently works as a digital creator. In her previous career, Elvan worked for over 10 years for a major international hotel chain in sales and marketing. She holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Maryland Baltımore County.
With two years of service on the ATA-DC board, Elvan currently holds the position of chairperson for the organization’s social media committee. Through her dedication and expertise, she strives to enhance the organization’s outreach and engagement. Elvan’s experience and passion for community empowerment and cultural exchange makes her a valuable asset in bridging the gap between Americans and Turks.
Elvan’s involvement extends to the virtual realm as well. As the co-administrator of the social media group DMV Kadınları, she connects Turkish American women in the DMV area, providing them with a platform for support and collaboration.
Her goal is to foster cultural understanding and give back to the community through her active participation in ATA-DC.
Gizem Şalcıgil White (Board)
Gizem Şalcıgil White, aka the Turkish Coffee Lady, is an award-winning Turkish American mother entrepreneur and has been a goodwill ambassador for Turkish coffee culture since 2009. She has been working voluntarily to promote Turkish coffee culture in the U.S. and abroad for the past 14 years. Through her non-profit Turkish Coffee Truck project, more than 30,000 people in the U.S., Europe and Canada were exposed to Turkish coffee for the first time. Gizem’s one-of-a-kind cultural diplomacy project made the headlines of major international publications including The Washington Post, Washingtonian, PRI/BBC and her followers started calling her the “Turkish Coffee Lady”. In May 2012, her Turkish Coffee Truck was honored by the U.S. Congress for fostering friendship between the Turkish and American peoples through their shared love of coffee.
From March 2011 to March 2012, she worked at the Press Counselor’s office at the Embassy of Turkey and worked at Turkish Airlines’ Washington DC office as the Sponsorship and Public Relations Coordinator between May 2012-February 2016. She worked as a business development coordinator at Margaret McNamara Education Grants, a women-led non-profit organization hosted by the World Bank. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Banking & Finance from Bilkent University and a master’s degree in Global Marketing Communication & Advertising from Emerson College, Boston. Her professional interests include nation branding and gastro cultural diplomacy.
Gizem has been donating her time and energy to the Turkish-American community in D.C. since 2009. She served as the president of American Turkish Association of Washington D.C. (ATA-DC) and the Vice President of Capital Region for Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) for four years. She also served as the Washington DC representative of Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA) in 2012.
In February 2014, Gizem received the “Cultural Sustainability Award” for her “Turkish Coffee Truck” project by Istanbul Tourist Guides Union. In 2015, Gizem was honored as one of the “Top Young Outstanding Persons of Turkey” by JCI. Turk of America magazine also awarded her as one of “40 Under 40 – The Most Influential Turkish American” in March 2016. On March 11, 2021, she received the prestigious “Golden Compass Award” for her ‘2019 U.S. Turkish Coffee Truck Tour” by Turkey’s Public Relations Association, TUHID.
In 2017, she started the first and only authentic Turkish coffee chain in the U.S. named “Turkish Coffee Lady” with the support of her dedicated team. She also established the Turkish Coffee Lady Foundation in Washington DC in March 2020, with a mission of bridging cultures one coffee at a time and empower other women entrepreneurs. Her small business was selected as the “Success Story of 2022” by the Small Business Development Center of Virginia. She was also named as one of the most inspiring women of 2023 by VIP Alexandria magazine.
She lives in Alexandria, Virginia with her husband and 6,5-year-old daughter.
Kenneth Joholske (Board)
He is a native of College Park, Maryland and has lived in both Montgomery County Maryland and the District of Columbia. Being of both Polish and Tsalagi/Cherokee heritage his interest in cultural diversity led him to study Cultural Anthropology. His background in Anthropology and library sciences has fostered an interest in cultural diversity and languages that has greatly enriched his life. After graduating from University of Maryland with a degree in Anthropology, Kenneth began working in the field of Native American Health Care creating culturally appropriate models of HIV/AIDS prevention for Urban Native Two-Spirit (LGBT) populations. In 1996 Kenneth joined the staff of the Biomedical Research Clinical Center Library at the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, Maryland. He provided research data for clinical trials and other health related research on going at the Clinical Center at NIH. Kenneth’s interests in Turkish culture grew out of his love of history, culture and music of Turkey. He began to study the Turkish language at the Ataturk language Academy in McLean, VA and joined ATA-DC in 2013. Kenneth then began to volunteer at the annual Washington DC Turkish festival. His love of Turkish literature and poetry led him to join the ATA-DC book club where he now sits as a chair on the newly formed ATA-DC book club committee. Kenneth enjoys planning literary events for the ATA-DC Book Club and bringing authors to Turk Evi to read their works and share the beauty of literature with the Turkish American community. He also served as the secretary of ATA-DC from 2018-2019. His other hobbies include the study of world music and classical piano.
Lawrence Cenk Laws (Board)
A native of Falls Church, Lawrence Cenk is an immigration attorney licensed in Virginia. He holds a B.S. in International Politics from Georgetown University, a J.D. from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law, and an L.L.M. in Public International Law from Koc University Faculty of Law in Istanbul, Turkey. Lawrence Cenk was the former Program Director at the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), a 501(c)(3) public charitable organization aimed at increasing political participation and civic engagement among the Turkish American community. He was also a researcher for the Turkish Heritage Organization (THO)’s Summer Research Program in Turkey, which focused on refugees and asylum-seekers in Turkey. His areas of focus include international law & politics, human rights, minority rights, civil rights & liberties, refugee & asylum law, and humanitarian issues. He is bilingual in Turkish and English.
Nile Nilbahar Karaman (Board)
Nile Nilbahar Karaman has 23 years of experience as a banking professional at
individual and corporate division. She served as a Branch Manager of 3 different branches for 12 years at Türkiye İş Bankası A.Ş.
Ms. Karaman holds a BA degree in Economics from Marmara University. She is currently working for Wells Fargo as a teller. She is also licensed Mortgage Loan Originator in Virginia.
Nile married to another well-known member of the Turkish-American Community, Serdar Karaman. The couple lives s Fairfax, VA with their 3 children Efe, Alp and Ata.
Ozcan (John) Inak (Board)
He was born in Eceabat, Canakkale in 1960, raised in Istanbul Turkiye. He has been residing in the USA for over 40 years. He owns and operates a HVAC business in the DC Metro area. He is A Direct Distributor for Ultra Hi-efficiency MR. COOL Heating/Cooling Products.
He is married, has 4 children and 2 grandchildren, all living around DMV area. He has been a member of ATA-DC since the early 2000s. He played futbol as a professional goal keeper at Ümraniye Spor and Fenerbahçe FB Amateur team. İn US he coached youth futbol clubs since 1990 including the teams his 4 children played in. Currently he is involved with 2 local youth futbol clubs. One in NE DC and One in NW DC with facilities in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Seda Arik (Board)
Seda Arik is a native of Bursa. She is an attorney at law and received a law degree from Istanbul University. She also has a Masters of Laws degree from University of Minnesota and is pursuing an MBA degree. She was elected and served as a city council member in Bursa, Turkey and also served as a board member in many associations.
She has been a member of ATA-DC since 2021 and continues to support the American-Turkish community. Her goal is to contribute to the American-Turkish community with her experience and strong relationships with Turkey.
Serpil Gulsen (Board)
She has been serving on the Turkish Festival Committee of ATA-DC since 2014 and has volunteered in various ATA-DC events throughout the years. In 2015 she was selected as the “Volunteer of the Year” in the ATA-DC’s Community Stars Awards by popular vote. Serpil is honored by this important award which encouraged her to serve her community and she has been serving on the ATA-DC board for six years. Serpil was born in 1964 in Istanbul. After high school, she graduated from the Practical Arts School for Girls and taught art, handicrafts and tailoring and later worked as a middle school teacher. In the meantime, she received her associate degree in public relations from Anadolu University in Eskisehir. While in Turkey, Serpil founded the Ataturk Society in the Gaziosmanpasa district of Istanbul where she served as both a board member and the secretary. She also served as the secretary and on the board of the Women’s Branch of CHP (leftist political party) in the same district. Serpil came to the United States 18 years ago for her daughters’ education. After taking Early Childhood Growth and Development classes at Anne Arundel Community College in Annapolis, Maryland she owned and operated a home daycare for a few years. She is a certified “Childcare Center Teacher” and has become an expert on providing care to multiple children, specializing in twins. She is also a founding board member and is responsible for the women’s brunch of FENERBAHÇE DC which is a famous sports team in Turkey.
She lives in Annapolis, Maryland with her two daughters.
Turan Tombul (Board)
He is interested in running for the ATA-DC Board of Directors, to help the Turkish community. He was born in Kayseri, and he has been living in the Washington, DC area since 1988. He came here as a student and has a degree in political science and economics. He first worked in the hospitality industry, and now has been a real estate agent for 22 years. He is very involved in the Turkish community here, and he strives to support the Turkish community in his business and private life. His priority is, and always has been, the interests of Turkey and the Turkish community. He served on the ATA-DC board for the past two years, and he helped organize the Turkish Festival every year. He is ready and willing to continue serving ATA-DC in any way that he can.
Turgay Dabak (Board)
He migrated to the U.S at the end of 1980 to work as an engineer. Two years later, he attended Virginia Tech for a doctorate degree. After graduation, he worked in Annapolis, MD and then moved to Northern Virginia and has been living there since then. He served on ATA-DC’s board for about ten years in the 1990s. First, he served as the Membership Committee Chair and then as Treasurer. He left the board in 2001 to focus on his family responsibilities after the birth of his second child. He returned to ATA-DC Board in 2021 and was assigned to run the Ataturk School for Children. As the school Principal, he enjoyed serving the American-Turkish community in educating their children about the Turkish language, Turkish culture and Ataturk. He would like to continue his contributions to ATA-DC as a volunteer board member.
Yusuf Bulca (Board)
He was born in Turkey, Gaziantep in 1969. His education has been concluded in Gaziantep. He prepared and presented literature, psychology, and philosophy programs for radio stations such as Bodrum FM and Halikarnas FM. He has sponsored several events for the Cagdas Yasam Society. He served as an exam supervisor and tutor at an occupational retraining institution in Bodrum. He and his family arrived in the United States in 2014. Since his arrival in the United States, He has been supporting and volunteering for the Turkish Society in America.
He would like to become a member of the ATA DC Board because he has seen how hard the board works to promote our nation, Turkey, and how effectively it collaborates with other board members; as a Turkish citizen, he believes that he could contribute to this effort in a meaningful way in ATA DC.
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