Turkish-American Women in Arts and Technology: New York Designer / Artist Pinar LaCroix's Journey

Art and Technology has always played a significant role in human life and development throughout history. As art comes in many different forms such as painting, sculpture, photography, and music and touches people's lives in various ways technology moves us forward. Today, we want to share the success story and background of one Turkish-American artist, Pinar LaCroix, from New York City, who has found a way to seamlessly combine art and technology. Pinar LaCroix a graduate from ISTEK high schools from Istanbul, developed a deep appreciation for art history and heritage, due to her family’s passion in arts and collecting. After pursuing her academic education she moved to the United States to broaden her artistic vision globally. Her first recognition in the art world came when her painting was recognized by Arica Hilton gallery in Chicago (2001) and was collected at a mixed exhibition. With the first money she earned from her art, she purchased a computer to dive into the world of technology and to feed her curiosity. 

U.S. Department of Defense Completes ‘Turn-key’ Hospital

Antakya, Türkiye – United States Marines, Sailors, Soldiers and Airmen constructed and organized a 100-bed emergency hospital in less than one week, as part of the U.S. Department of Defense’s continuous commitment to assist survivors of the catastrophic earthquakes in Türkiye. 

U.S. Naval Forces Europe, in coordination with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) facilitated the construction of the field hospital at the request of the government of Türkiye, with assistance from the 633d Surgical Operations Squadron, Langley Air Force Base, Medical Installation Support Team (MIST).

“As soon as we received the request for a field hospital our team got to work and was able to complete its construction and set-up in less than a week,” said Brig. Gen Andrew Priddy, commanding general, TF 61/2. “The field hospital is just another example of how we are committed to helping our Turkish allies. I could not be prouder of this team.”

U.S. Marines, assigned to U.S. Sixth Fleet’s Task Force 61/2, worked side-by-side with the Ministry of Health through USAID to ensure the hospital was established and operational before departing Serinyol. 

“Being able to help the Turkish people was an amazing honor but being so well received and treated with kindness humbled me greatly,” said 1st Lt. Rylie Zuelch, a MIST team leader. “It was a truly eye-opening experience, and I learned a lot. I’m, just glad I was able to help.”  

The emergency field hospital is equipped with an emergency room, two operating rooms, and an intensive care unit. Along with the field hospital’s emergency care it’s capable of providing pediatric care. 

The Marines of TF 61/2, Airmen from 39th Air Base Wing, and Airmen from the 633d Surgical Operations Squadron, worked day and night to set up the hospital in less than five days, a task that was projected to take seven days. The hospital will be officially turned over to Turkish authorities on Mar. 7. 

TF 61/2, under operational control of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and U.S. Sixth Fleet, is responding to the deadly 7.8 and 7.5 magnitude earthquakes that devastated southeastern and central Türkiye on Feb. 6. Hours after the earthquake, U.S. Marines and Sailors established a forward crisis response operations center at Incirlik Air Base, Türkiye, in close coordination with U.S. interagency partners and Turkish officials.

By: Capt MacKenzie Margroum-Department of Defense

Cemil Ozyurt

Cemil Ozyurt (born 1976) is a Turkish-American journalist, media manager, and co-founder & editor-in-chief of the U.S.-based Turk of America, the first Turkish-American magazine in English. He is also co-founder & Editor-in-Chief of Turk Avenue, a Turkish global business portal and Co-founder of TOA Awards, the only independent organization created to reward successful Turkish Americans.

Ozyurt was born in Mucur, Kirsehir in 1976. After completing elementary and middle school in Mucur, his family moved to Istanbul. He graduated from Pendik High School in Istanbul in 1993.

Ozyurt graduated from Marmara University Graduate School of Journalism in 1997. He started his journalism career while he was student in the University in 1995 at Dunya Newspaper in Istanbul. He worked for the newspaper as a reporter from May 1, 1995 to December 15, 1998. After daily newspaper experiences, he started to work for Platin, the weekly business magazine. After six months working for the magazine, he joined the Army on August 1, 1999 at Tuzla Infantry School in İstanbul. Completed his duty on October 2000 and continued to work for Platin Magazine.

He moved to the United States on June 19, 2001 to pursue his master's degree. He attended a language school in New Jersey and studied on business journalism at Baruch College, City University of New York in 2004.

He started their first business as magazine publisher in August 2002 in New York City. Turk of America Magazine has become the longest running Turkish-American magazine that has published by Turkish Americans.

Along with TOA Consulting, TURKOFAMERICA Magazine, which has been awarding successful people of the United States in different categories since 2014, honors the year’s successful people in different field from diplomacy to business, academy to entrepreneurship. He has organized the 50 Most Influential Turkish-Americans Award Ceremony, the 30 Most Influential Turkish-American Women Award Ceremony, the 40 Under 40 Turkish-Americans Award Ceremony, the 30 Distinguished Friends of Turkey Award Ceremony, and Outstanding Achievement Awards Ceremony. He married with Fidan Ozyurt in 2008 and has two sons, Kerem Ali and Kaan Ahmet.

Honors & Awards

  • The Best Research Article Award - Republic of Turkey Office of the Prime Minister Directorate General of Press and Information Jun 2014

Local Media News Competition on Research Category, - Feature article: "Amerika'daki Türkler Çılgınca Dernekleşiyor"

  • Excellence in Media Award - American Turkish Associations Assemble April 2012

The TurkofAmerica Magazine received “Excellence in Media” award at the 32. Annual National Turkish American Convention, organized by ATAA, FTAA, and TACC, on Saturday, April 14, 2012. 

Skills

Journalism   •   Digital Media   • Social Media   •   Editing   •   Public Relations   •   Social Media Marketing   • Business Strategy   •   Blogging   •   Publishing   •   Podcasting

 

The Gifted Photographer Joined TURKOFAMERICA Team  

Koray Kasap is potentially one of the most famous and talented Turkish American photographers in 21st century joined to TURKOFAMERICA team as a creative art director and lead photographer. Kasap has worked as both an image maker and a photographer for several well-known Turkish singers, TV stars, model, and artists such Tarkan, Mazhar-Fuat-Özkan, Müslüm Gürses, Ahmet Kaya, Kenan Doğulu, Cem Yılmaz, Yılmaz Erdoğan, Bayezıt Öztürk. After moving to the United States in 2017, Kasap also worked with Hollywood stars Sylvester Stallone, Whoopi Goldberg, and Jason Statham. Most recently he shot photos of Netflix movie which was shot in New York, Kıvanç Tatlıtuğ and Beren Saat have leading roles.  

First Syriac Immigrants in the United States

George Anton Kiraz has published extensively in the fields of computational linguistics, Syriac studies, and the digital humanities. He wrote several books, journals, research papers and articles about Syriacs.  He is the founder and director of Beth Mardutho: The Syriac Institute, the Editor-in-Chief of Gorgias Press, and a Senior Research Associate at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton. He earned an M.St. degree in Syriac Studies from the University of Oxford (1991) and an M.Phil. and a Ph.D. from the University of Cambridge (1992, 1996). His latest books include The Syriac Orthodox in North America (1895–1995): A Short History (2019) and Syriac-English New Testament (2020). 

Mardin in America: Syriacs   

By Cemil Özyurt - We have left behind 20 years in publishing. There is no such continuity in publishing life in America. Since the beginning, migration stories have always intrigued me. The United States is a country of immigrants, and every immigrant has a story worth telling. In New Jersey, especially in Bergen County, I have been meeting Syriacs for many years. I've had good friendships. For a long time, I wanted to draft the story of the Syriac community in America in a special issue. I first told this intention to Erol Devli, one of the leading figures of the society. The aftermath came by itself anyway. I reached out to names that were respected in society. Cebrail (Gabriel) Akyön, one of the leading names in the Syriac community, helped me meeting many names at St. Gabriel Church in New Jersey. And a subject has emerged that has never been covered by any media outlet in the U.S. to date: the Syriac Community in America.   

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