ATA-DC Election 2025
Sevtap Schreffler – President and Board
It is with great privilege that I have served our community as a member and on the board of directors for over 20 years. Now, I stand before you ready to take a significant step by running for the position of President on the Board of Directors in this year’s elections. ATA-DC has played a pivotal role in my life throughout my journey in the U.S. It has been my home and a valuable resource in teaching my children the rich Turkish culture and heritage that my family holds dear. If given the opportunity to be the president of this esteemed organization, I pledge to serve our community with unwavering enthusiasm and dedication.
Before delving into the details of my tenure at ATA-DC, allow me to provide a glimpse into my professional background. With over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, including 15 years as a program manager, I have supported both the U.S. Government and various contracts with the British Government. This includes collaborating with esteemed entities such as the U.S. Department of State, the Department of Homeland Security, the U.S. Navy Seals, the British National Police, and the London Ambulance Service. Furthermore, I have spearheaded global modernization efforts to enhance university relations and recruiting for a Fortune 100 corporation. Throughout my career, I have successfully managed diverse IT teams, nurturing individual career growth and overseeing the development of multi-million dollar projects. In the early stages of my professional journey, I also served as an interpreter and translator for medical services at Johns Hopkins University Hospital, catering to patients from different countries.
Regarding my involvement with ATA-DC, one of my significant undertakings was serving as the principal of the Atatürk School from 1998 to 2001. During my tenure, we witnessed remarkable growth in student enrollment, effectively doubling the student body. Both of my daughters had the privilege of attending the school, gaining a deep understanding of their Turkish heritage and forging lifelong friendships that endure to this day. One of the highlights of my time at the school was organizing a memorable 23 April celebration held at the World Bank auditorium. We curated a multicultural agenda, inviting children’s dance groups from as far as Ireland and Hawaii to join us. Our talented children showcased their talents through choruses, folklore dance performances, poetry readings, and more.
Throughout the years, both as a board member and an active participant, I have consistently engaged with ATA-DC. I have contributed to numerous Turkish festival events, assuming roles such as stage coordinator and overseeing merchandise sales and membership tents. In the past four years, I have served as part of the IT Committee within the ATA-DC Board of Directors and currently hold the position of Chair of the Membership Committee. Collaborating with an exceptional team of volunteers, we have made significant improvements to our systems, enhancing members’ interactions with the board. We have successfully resolved long standing technical issues that had affected our membership database. Since assuming leadership of the Membership Committee, we have witnessed an impressive 800% increase in active members.
If I have the honor of being elected as the new president of ATA-DC, I am committed to expanding our community engagement by inviting experts in U.S. immigration laws, tax and estate planning, and other relevant areas to inform the community about these subjects, empowering Turks to thrive in the U.S. Furthermore, I plan to organize more cultural events, culminating in the renowned Turkish Festival of DC held annually. It is paramount that we continue to educate the Washington D.C. area about Türkiye and Turkish culture while fostering a community that embraces and supports all of our members and friends.
Together, let us embark on a journey of growth, celebration, and empowerment for our beloved community.
Özge Övün-Sert – Secretary General
Özge Övün-Sert has been an active board member of ATA-DC since 2018 and was elected Secretary General in 2023. She previously worked as a freelance journalist and TV reporter based in Washington, DC. Özge anchored Batı Yakası, a 60-minute news program on TRT Haber, where she interviewed U.S. officials and prominent global figures, including Noam Chomsky and Russell Crowe. Prior to that, she worked at Voice of America (VOA), where she hosted various television and live radio programs, conducted interviews, and produced feature stories and news reports. She was also the anchor of VOA’s first Turkish-language TV show, Gündem, for more than eight years.
Özge holds a Bachelor’s degree in Journalism from Marmara University’s School of Communication and a Master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Maryland. Recently, she transitioned into the field of IT security and currently works as a Cybersecurity Analyst at an IT company headquartered in the Washington, DC area. In addition, she is a licensed real estate agent in Virginia.
She is married to Yalçın Sert, a well-known member of the Turkish-American community. They reside in Fairfax, VA, with their two children, Duru and Bartu.
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
Seda Arik – Board
Seda Arik is a native of Bursa, Türkiye. She is an attorney at law and holds a law degree from Istanbul University. She also earned a Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree from the University of Minnesota and is currently pursuing an MBA.She was elected and served as a city council member in Bursa, Türkiye, and has held board positions in several associations.
Seda has been an active member of ATA-DC since 2021 and currently serves both as a board member of ATA-DC and as the Capital Region Vice President of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA). She continues to actively support and advocate for the American-Turkish community. Her goal is to contribute to the community through her experience, leadership, and strong relationships with Türkiye.
Kenny Joholske – Board
Kenneth Joholske is a native Washingtonian and a pianist and Cultural Anthropologist, I have served on the Board of ATA-DC since 2012, where I served to develop Cultural Programs in the Turkish Community and the Turkish Festival. I also served for two years as the Secretary of ATADC and Executive Committee. I also served as interim Administrator for the ATADC Turkish Language School in McLain VA.
After my studies at the university of Maryland where I majored in both music and Anthropology I was excepted into a graduate program at American University in Applied Cultural Anthropology where I embarked on my studies in Urban Indian Health care. My fieldwork focused in on how urban indigenous peoples utilized both traditional healing practices in standard heal care settings and in turn created cultural sensitive prevention models of health care services. In 1996 I joined the staff of the Biomedical Research Clinical Center in Bethesda Maryland where I provided research data for clinical trials and other health related research on going at the Clinical Center. I have study Turkish music history extensively and am also interested in how Turkish cultural identity plays a role in the maintenance of both language and cultural identity.
Nilbahar Karaman – Board
Nile Karaman has 25 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 at Bank Of America as banker. 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.
Elvan Ramazanogullari – Board
Elvan Ramazanoğulları currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors at ATA-DC, now entering her fourth year of service to the organization.
Born and raised in the DMV area, Elvan has been deeply engaged in the Turkish-American community from a young age. She attended ATA-DC and MATA’s Turkish schools growing up and spent many years volunteering with Turkish Children Foster Care, a U.S.-based nonprofit. Her commitment to community extends beyond cultural lines—Elvan is also active in her local community in Virginia.
Elvan currently works for Fairfax County Public Schools. She is also a digital creator and a former sales and marketing professional, having spent over 10 years with a major international hotel chain. She holds a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from the University of Maryland, Baltimore County.
On the ATA-DC board, Elvan serves as Chair of the Social Media Committee, where she uses her expertise to expand the organization’s outreach and community engagement. Her work supports ATA-DC’s mission to foster cultural understanding and strengthen connections between Turkish and American communities.
Elvan is also the co-administrator of DMV Kadınları, a social media group connecting Turkish-American women across the DMV area, offering a platform for networking, support, and collaboration.
Her goal is to give back through active service and to promote cultural exchange, understanding, and empowerment.
Busra Tarhan – Board
Busra Kayı Tarhan was born and raised in Istanbul Cihangir . She completed her Academic Education by graduating from Golden Horn University, American Language and Literature. Afterwards, she worked as an English teacher meanwhile when she was in Turkey.
As an art lover She took part in many branches of art such as painting, music, fashion design and photography.
Apart from these branches of art, music became more different when she decided to go to conservatory at Müjdat Gezen art Center. This school inspired her too much on this path and shed light on her as well . After the conservatory, she now has the opportunity to perform at many Turkish community events and festivals which organized by ATA D,C of Washington . Now she is actively reach her listener with her acoustic live performances on her youtube channel. She has been Washington D. C almost 10 years with her family husband and one lovely son who’s name is Barış which means “peace “ Peace at Home , Pease in the World “ Mustafa Kemal Atatürk…
Atilla Ozdemir– Board
Atilla Ozdemir is an entrepreneur lives in the DMV area for the last 11 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.
Ms. Yuksel holds a Bachelor’s degree from the Physical Education Teaching Department of the prestigious University of Kocaeli’s Sports Academy in Turkey. She additionally holds an Associate Degree in Sport Management from Howard Community College and MBA from Bay Atlantic University in DC. Ms. Yuksel current job position is Manager and Designer at Kitchen and Bath Shop Timonium.
Sevda Kupoglu Aleckson – Board
Sevda moved to the U.S. in 1975 and built a 40-year career as an environmentalscientist and manager, specializing in environmental consulting, engineering, and quality assurance across both federal and private sectors.
For over 20 years, she has been deeply involved in the Turkish-American community, serving on the boards of several organizations including the Association of TurkishAmericans of Southern California (ATASC), the Orange County Turkish American Association (OCTAA), the Orange County Turkish School, and the American Turkish Association of North Carolina (ATA-NC) Charlotte. In 2004, she led the formal establishment of OCTAA as a regional chapter of ATA-SC and served as its president. Two years later, she founded the Orange County Turkish School, developing educational programs for children and organizing cultural events.
From 2010 to 2023, Sevda also founded and directed the Bridge to Türkiye Fund’s (BTF) Empowerment Scholarships Program, supporting thousands of underprivileged students in Türkiye.
A passionate advocate for education, women’s empowerment, and cultural preservation, she has represented Turkish-American organizations at international festivals, civic events, and outreach programs. She brings decades of nonprofit leadership, program development, and community engagement experience. She has received special awards for her professional work and volunteer service in the Turkish-American community.
Since relocating to Virginia in 2021, Sevda has been an active member of ATA-DC and looks forward to contributing her knowledge, dedication, and energy to further strengthen the local Turkish-American community.
Yasemin Bayraktar – Board
Meet Yasemin, a friendly face you might already know from around Virginia! She’s been working as an English teacher at Fairfax County Public Schools for the past 15 years. She earned her Master’s degree from George Mason University and her BA from Bilkent University.
Aylin Gecener – Board
Aylin is from İzmir and holds a degree in Food Science and Engineering from Ege University. For 20 years, she worked in the food industry as a Food Safety, Quality Assurance, and Operations Coordinator across Türkiye, Russia, and Kazakhstan. After moving to the U.S., she continued her career and currently serves as a Food Safety and Quality Specialist for Wegmans.
Beyond her professional life, she has been an active contributor to the Turkish American community. Over the past year, she has been a part of the DMV Turkish Music Ensemble, through which she performed at the Turkish Festival and the “Tribute to Atatürk” concert in collaboration with ATA-DC. She also volunteered in the past to help organize festival volunteers and enjoys engaging in community involved activities.
Her connection with ATA-DC strengthened when her daughter joined ATA-DC’s Young Cultural Ambassador Program (YCAP). Through this program, she learned how important cultural programs are for young people and became passionate about helping the young generation stay connected to their heritage.
She hopes to help expand youth engagement and promote inclusive, meaningful cultural events that reflect the Turkish American community. She also looks forward to contributing to ATA-DC’s mission by organizing both social, cultural, and educational activities to bring the Turkish community members and other cultures together.
In her personal time, Aylin enjoys singing, exploring new places, sailing with her family, and going on nature walks.
Sema Yelken – Board
Mrs. Sema Yelken was born and raised in Adana, Turkiye, as the daughter of an engineer father and a teacher mother who were founding members of ADD – Atatürkçü Düşünce Derneği (Atatürkist Thought Association) in her hometown. While she was young, she participated in the Association’s meetings and activist events with her parents and has grown up with Atatürk’s ideology. She has substantial experience in Retail Banking and Private Wealth; Portfolio Management, having worked at a leading private bank in Istanbul. Upon her marriage, she relocated to Northern Virginia 15 years ago.
Dedicated to community building, Mrs. Yelken has volunteered extensively for ATA-DC events, such as one of the Kids Tent Coordinators at the Turkish Festival and Turkish School’s Children’s Day Celebrations, Turkish Embassy functions, and annual cultural activities at her children’s school. She also actively serves as a troop leader with the Girl Scouts of America for her daughter’s troop and is an active volunteer for Cornerstones Programs, eradicating food insecurity and providing sheltering for those in need.
She holds a Master’s Degree in Finance from American University, Kogod School of Business. She works as a Finance Director at a privately-owned company.
Mrs. Yelken is raising two trilingual children with her husband. She instills Atatürk’s principles in her children by emphasizing the importance of education, secularism, and civic responsibility. Through various activities and discussions, she teaches them the values of hard work, perseverance, and the significance of contributing to society. Her children learn about Turkish history and culture, ensuring that they appreciate their heritage while becoming responsible global citizens.
Her service on the ATA-DC Board would enable her to further support ATA-DC’s mission by organizing educational and cultural activities that celebrate Turkish traditions and foster understanding among diverse communities within the United States.
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