11 Turkish Americans have been selected for TCA's 13th Annual Summer Internship Program. This year's interns include: Timur Ayaz (County College of Morris), Kaan Cubukcu (Kennesaw University), Pelin Ensari (UC Berkeley), Mert Kamberoglu (TOBB University of Economics and Technology), Carmelo Konmaz (Bogazici University), Melissa Ozdemir (Columbia University), Mert Selcuk (Santa Clara University), Stephanie Sezen (Washington & Lee University), Meryem Uzumcu (NYU), Furkan Yalcin (UCLA), and Andrew Yildizlar (University of Buffalo). These students will be placed in various offices throughout Washington, DC. Designed to enhance Turkish American participation in political life, the program provides an opportunity for young Turkish Americans to live and work in the nation’s capital, learn about the American political process, contribute to U.S.-Turkey relations and the TCA mission, and explore career opportunities in public affairs.

Meetings with Members of Congress

TCA’s Washington team met with the following Members of Congress on Capitol Hill during the month of February—Representatives Tony Cardenas (D-CA/29th). Tom Cole (R-OK/4th), Gerry Connolly (D-VA/11th), Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5th), John Garamendi (D-CA/3rd), and  Joe Kennedy (D-MA/4 ^th ). Discussions ranged from current foreign and domestic issues affecting Turkish Americans to the upcoming centennial celebration of the Turkish National Assembly this April.

Dr. Selin Yildiz Nielsen, a participant  in TCA Women’s Leadership Forum last year, spoke at the Washington Turkish House on February 9 about the American, European, and Turkish perceptions of the worldwide issue of refugees and migrants. The talk was sponsored by TASC (Turkish American National Steering Committee), and opening remarks were made by TCA’s President G. Lincoln McCurdy.

The Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), in partnership with The University of Utah and the  Turkish Studies Project , announced the publication of two new books. William Holt's  The Balkan Reconquista and Turkey's Forgotten Refugee Crisis and Jeremy Salt’s  The Last Ottoman Wars: The Human Cost, 1877-1923.

Since its founding in 2007, TCA has made an effort to build bridges between the Turkish American community and other minority groups. TCA’s outreach to the African American community included scholarships to over 250 African American college students who had participated in a study abroad program in Turkey, trips to Turkey for faculty at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HCBUs), and TCA’s program on “African American-Turkish Connections Through the Arts.” Most recently, TCA has highlighted Ilyasah Shabazz's (the late Malcolm X's daughter) trip to Turkey. (Please see TCA's Facebook and Twitter pages about this visit.)

TCA intern Tanem Zaman, a journalism major at George Washington University, conducted an exclusive interview on February 28 with Aycha Sawa, who aspires to be the chief financial officer (city comptroller) for Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The election for Milwaukee’s City Comptroller is on April 7.* Sawa qualified for the general election after coming in second with two other contenders in the February primary. She is one of the four women political candidates from the Turkish American community running for public office in 2020. The interview will be featured under TCA's  Turkish American Women's Leadership Initiative.

*Please note: as a 501(c)3 charitable organization, TCA is prohibited by law from engaging in activities that could be construed as political campaigning. TCA cannot and does not donate funds to a political action committee or support any political candidate or group of candidates. With this initiative, TCA is not endorsing or supporting any candidate for any office.