Students from Jerusalem, Beirut, Cairo, and Morocco meet with students from Texas, Iowa, Pittsburg, and Kentucky at an online class and discuss issues of the Middle East, global warming, and the Israel-Palestine conflict.  Students from Finland, Denmark, and France find a chance to have an online face to face conversation on US-EU relations with their American peers. The first of the online education systems was the platform called Computer Assisted Learning Center, which was created in 1994.

Peyman Umay moved to the U.S. in 2007, after a promising liaison with 2 fashion houses in Europe. In 2011, He started his own line of menswear in New York City, offering luxury men’s made-to-measure clothing, by appointment only. Through his passion and hard-work, Peyman created a loyal clientele by combining his fashion background with unique services that no other brand does. Within 2 years, Peyman Umay designs were already being celebrated by the very affluent people of the country from Hollywood to Sports. Realizing the need and not being able to resist the consistent demand, Umay launched women’s made-to-measure line in 2013 and finally men’s ready-to-wear collection in December 2015, opening the first Peyman Umay retail store in Aspen, Colorado. The New York based celebrity designer shares his secrets in his recently penned book “Dressing Well” that will be published soon.

By Altan Ergün * - Muhtar Kent was born in New York. His father was the Turkish Consul General at the time. After finishing high school in Turkey in 1971, he went to University of Hull where studied economics and then MBA at Cass Business School in London. Het joined the Coca-Cola Company in Atlanta in 1978 and rose through the company taking different leadership positions in US, Europe and Asia.  After a stint with Turkey’s Efes Beverage Group in 1999, he returned to Coca-Cola in 2005, and become the Chief Executive Officer in 2008 and then Chairman in 2009. He is married with two kids and lives in Atlanta.

Mükemmel (Mike) Sarımsakçı founded Alterra in 2009 with one mission in mind: “to develop inspired spaces for people to live, work, and play,” the company says. Sarımsakçı is a more than 20-year real estate, development and construction industry veteran with experience in North America as well as internationally. Before forming the company, Sarimsakci was managing director of Polidev International LLC, where he was responsible for real estate development projects in the Americas. His international experience includes working as vice president in Saudi Arabia for AECOM and serving as a board member with Ibra Holding in Azarbaijan. Sarimsakci’s first job in the construction industry was with Bechtel in San Francisco, where he was a construction manager and civil engineer for massive park projects in Dubai and Euro Disney. He sits at two NGO boards: American Turkish Society and East West Institute. TURKOFAMERICA talked to Mike Sarımsakçı about his past and current projects.