MONTHLY NEWSLETTER    August 2019
TCA Accepting Applications for 2019 Turkish American Youth Leadership Congress

Applications for the  2019 Annual Turkish American Youth Leadership Congress are now open. This year’s TCA Youth Congress will be held between  October 24-27, 2019 in Washington, D.C.

Students and young professionals of Turkish American heritage are encouraged to  apply . The deadline for applications is Friday, September 13, 2019.

TCA President Travels to Colorado

TCA President G. Lincoln McCurdy visited Denver, Colorado, August 14 to meet with the leadership of the Turkish American Cultural Society of Colorado (TACSCO). The discussion centered on TCA's programs and talking points for TACSCO's upcoming meeting with Congressman Jason Crow (D-CO/6th). There was also discussion on Turkish Americans running for political office and the US-Turkey relationship. Ela Elmas, a 2018 TCA Youth Congress alumnus also participated.

TCA Hosts University of California, Irvine Students
On August 8, TCA hosted a delegation of American students from the University of California, Irvine (UCI), who are participating in UCI's "Olive Tree Initiative" Armenia-Turkey" study group. TCA President G. Lincoln McCurdy briefed the delegation on TCA-TCF programs and activities. The group also held a roundtable discussion about the Turkish American community. 

TCA Summer Internship Program Concludes

In Summer 2019, TCA welcomed ten young Turkish Americans from across the United States to participate in the  Washington Summer Internship Program . 

TCA 2019 Summer Internship Program participants worked at the following organizations and offices: Capitol Hill office of Congressman Don Beyer’s (D-VA/8th); Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress (CSPC), the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) Washington, D.C. office; the American Turkish Association of Washington, D.C. (ATA-DC); the Turkish Heritage Organization (THO); LB International Solutions; University of Utah, Turkish Studies Project; and the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA). 

TCA Alumni Spotlight

Pinar Gezgec is the Partnership Manager at the Turkish Heritage Organization (THO.) Born and raised in Gaithersburg, MD, Pinar holds a bachelor’s degree in History with a concentration in the Middle East from University of Maryland, College Park. She was the founding president of the Turkish Student Organization on her campus.

Pinar previously interned at TCA and participated in TCA’s 3rd Annual Turkish American Youth Leadership Congress in in 2016. In Fall 2019, she will start her master's degree in International Relations at Bogazici University in Istanbul.