On September 29, TCA hosted a panel discussion on the ‘Success Stories of Turkish American Women in Washington’ in collaboration with Turkish Women’s International Network’s (TurkishWIN) DC chapter at TCA headquarters. The speakers included Ceyla Pazarbasioglu, Senior Director of Finance and Markets Global Practice at the World Bank Group; Gonul Tol, Director of the Middle East Institute’s Center for Turkish Studies; and Merve Hande Akmehmet, Managing Partner of Sandalyeci and President of the Hologram Network. The moderator for the event was Sebnem Kalemli-Ozcan, the Neil Moskowitz Endowed Professor of Economics at the University of Maryland, College Park.

U.S. document that only recently surfaced has confirmed that Kemal Batmaz, one of the masterminds of the July 15 coup attempt, stayed in Gülenist Terror Group (FETÖ) leader Fetullah Gülen's residence in the U.S. six and a half months before they tried to overthrow the government. Batmaz and Adil Öksüz, two civilians believed to have directedsoldiers on behalf of FETÖ, were caught by CCTV cameras at the 143rd Fleet of the Akıncı Air Base, the command center of the putschist soldiers, on the night of July 15. Öksüz managed to flee after a controversial court ruling ordered his release, while Batmaz was jailed. According to the official document time stamped Jan. 1, 2016, which was released by Turkish daily Hürriyet's columnist Sedat Ergin and later published by Anadolu Agency, Batmaz told American officials questioning him at New Jersey's Newark Airport in the U.S. that he "will stay with Imam Fetullah Gülen in Pennsylvania" during his visit to the country.

Chobani, maker of America's top Greek yogurt brand, has selected seven startups out of more than 550 applicants for its second annual Food Incubator program, based on each company’s commitment to innovation. The program, which began Sept. 26 and runs through December, is situated in a dedicated space at Chobani's sales and marketing offices in New York. The startups were selected based on a combination of product quality and mission, including bringing nutritious and affordable food to more people.

We interviewed Ayca Ariyoruk, cross-cultural facilitator and partnerships manager for Soliya Inc., a not-for-profit, technology-enabled organisation educating young people across difference. Ayca is an international development expert and a cross cultural facilitator with over a decade of experience in policy advocacy and in facilitating public-private partnerships for global public good. Previously, as the director for communications at Turkish Philanthropy Funds, a New York based community foundation, Ayca supported education initiatives to empower marginalised youth. At the United Nations Association of the USA (now the UN Foundation), she devised policy research and advocacy campaigns in favour of transparency, reform and US leadership on a range of issues that were on the UN Security Council’s agenda. She started her career as a young scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, a public educational foundation dedicated to informed debate on US foreign policy in the Middle East.