Hafize Gaye Erkan To Join First Republic As Senior Vice President, Chief Investment Officer
Gaye Hafize Erkan
SAN FRANCISCO-
updated 3:19 AM UTC, May 22, 2025
Happy Mother's Day!
By Nermin Abadan-Unat - I am a big fan of Turkish Philanthropy Funds. I might have a bias since my son, Mustafa Kemal Abadan, is one of the founders and serves on TPF board. But, beyond that, TPF's commitment to philanthropy has never ceased to amaze and inspire me. So, I hope you'll join me in supporting TPF's girls education initiative for Mother
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Young Turkish Real Estate Broker Named 2012 Costar Power Broker
FORT LEE, NJ (MARCH 12, 2013) - Zeynep "Z" Ekemen has been selected by CoStar Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: CSGP), commercial real estate's leading internet provider of information, analytics and marketing services, to receive the prestigious CoStar Power Broker Award. This annual award recognizes the "best of the best" in commercial real estate brokerage by highlighting the U.S. firms and individual brokers who closed the highest transaction volumes in commercial property sales or leases in 2012 in their respective markets.
Bedriye Hulya Named Social Entrepreneur of the Year
Entrepreneurship in Turkey is being celebrated on the global stage once again, as the World Economic Forum’s Schwab Foundation has just awarded Bedriye Hulya an award for Social Entrepreneur of the Year. Hulya, who the founder of Turkey’s first chain of women-only gyms, as was the only woman selected from the Middle East and North Africa and Turkey in 2013. Hulya began her b-fit gym franchise in February 2006 in a middle-class neighborhood of Izmir, one of Turkey’s major cities. Since then, b-fit has enabled hundreds of women to become entrepreneurs in their own right. As of today, there are 160,000 gym members at 220 gyms around the country, staffed by over 500 women employees and 250 women franchisee in 47 cities in Turkey and Cyprus. NYC Mother Killed in Turkey Is Buried; Man Wanted
Christina Jimenez, sister of Sarai Sierra, pauses at her casket during her funeral at the Christian Pentecostal Church, in the Staten Island borough of New York, Friday, Feb. 15, 2013. The 33-year-old mother of two was killed while vacationing alone in Turkey. Sierra disappeared Jan. 21, and her body was discovered 12 days later near Istanbul's ancient city walls. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Turkish Entrepreneur Enters the 100 Strongest Women List in Mexico
Turkish woman entrepreneur Ayşe Koçak was chosen as one of the 100 strongest women in Mexico by CNN Expansion magazine. Koçak established a medical company in Mexico three years ago. The entrepreneur shared her story with Anatolia News Agency. “When I arrived in Mexico, I did not know Spanish and knew no one,” seh said adding that, fortunately, things went well and our company grew. “We have reached a sales volume of $100 million in three years,” Koçak said. Unpublished Photo Reveals Monroe's Visit to Turkish Soldiers
Marilyn Monroe visited Turkish soldiers fighting in the Korean War, recently revealed photos show. The legendary beauty icon is seen amongst the soldiers in a set of photos taken in the early 1950s during the Korean War, for which Turkey had sent troops. Monroe is pictured amongst the army men, wearing a Turkish uniform and a dark pair of sunglasses. Turkish-Americans Play Big Roles in Hit Web Series 'Downsized'
Written and directed by Daryn Strauss, the web series ‘Downsized’ starring two Turkish-American actresses in leading roles in a plot that tells the story of average Americans coping with debt, credit default, bankruptcy, immigration and unemploymentAverage Americans are the subjects of the hit dramedy “Downsized,” a timely online series that was recently named “The best of the straight dramas [on the web]” by the Los Angeles Times.
The show takes place in New York City and features two Turkish-American characters, Leyla and her sister Dünya.
Young Turkish Designer's Dream Is Very Simple: To Make It to the Next Season
When she was a junior in high school, when everyone was sending out college applications, she knew all she wanted to do was design. Teachers always taught them to apply to as many colleges as possible. She only applied to one; it was The Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan. It didn't concern her that there was a chance she would not get accepted and she didn't have a back up plan. So, after months of anticipating the acceptance letter, she received the rejection letter. She went to the school to see if she could talk to the dean of fashion design. There was nothing he could do to admit her that semester, but he recommended she would take courses at the school to build her portfolio.
After a couple of courses her drawing had improved dramatically. She put together a new and improved portfolio and submitted it the next semester.
She continued her courses at F.I.T. and anticipated that acceptance letter once again. She wasn't sure if she could take another rejection. If she didn't get accepted this time she might have given up. Her family kept reminding her and asking what if she doesn't get accepted this time? She did not know.
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Vanessa V. Seckin Opens Her Law Firm in New York City to Better Serve Turkish Americans
Vanessa V. Seckin has practiced 10 years immigration law.
Increasing of Turkish-American population in New York and New Jersey area, attract more professional to serve the community. Vanessa Seckin, wife of well-known Turkish interventional pain doctor Ali Inanc Seckin who works for Hackensack University Medical Center, has practiced immigration law for the last 10 years and now she opens her own law firm.
Seckin has a diverse knowledge in immigration law that it is comprised of individual, start-up, mid size, and large multinational companies and organizations encompassing of broad range of industry sectors.
Seckin says: “There are a lot of immigration attorneys out there, but very few whom not only understand the laws and procedures, but also the predicament and the frustration that a person is facing in the U.S.”
Turkey's New York Tourist Office Names Ejder Director
Ebru Ejder is the new director of the Turkish Culture and Tourist Office in New York, replacing Nihan Bekar who has returned to the head office in Ankara. Ejder has worked with the Ministry of Culture and Tourism of Turkey since 1998 and previously worked in the Turkish Culture and Tourist Office in New York as a deputy director. In 2011, the office will launch a new advertising and public relations campaign.In the last three years, visitor arrivals to Turkey from the U.S. increased by 23.17 percent, thanks in part to the advertising in New York’s Times Square, high-profile television coverage on the “Martha Stewart,” “Anthony Bourdain,” “Today Show” and “The Bachelorette” programs and the 2010 ASTA International Conference in Istanbul. Istanbul was also the European Capital of Culture for 2010.
Turkish-American Celebrity, Defne Joy Found Dead in Istanbul
Turkish-American television host and actress Defne Joy Foster, 32, was found dead in an apartment Wednesday in Istanbul's Caddebostan neighborhood. Foster reportedly went out with friends Tuesday night and stayed in her friend's apartment on Tanzimat street in Caddebostan, where she was found dead. The report said Foster was suffering from asthma.She was thought to have died from respiratory difficulty and a heart attack. The certain cause of death will be determined after an autopsy, the report said. Foster, the daughter of a Turkish mother and an American father, had married three years ago and had a son. She first appeared on TV screens as a VJ on Kral music channel and later went into acting on various TV series.
Foster last participated in "Yok Böyle Bir Dans," the Turkish version of "Dancing With the Stars," where she was eliminated last week.
Source: Hurriyet Daily News
Turkey's Honorary Consul Positive About Georgia Ties in 2011
Mona Diamond was appointed the Turkish honorary consul general for the state of Georgia in 2005. In the same year, she became the chairman of the American Turkish Friendship Council, a not-for-profit organization for the promotion of close relations between the United States and Turkey. In 2009, she organized and chaired an International Women’s Entrepreneurship and Leadership Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, and in September 2010, she partnered with two Turkish American business organizations and the American Chamber of Commerce Executives to head a delegation of civic and business leaders from throughout the U.S. to several Turkish cities.
Ms. Diamond responded to the following questions from GlobalAtlanta about her current activities in promoting relations between Georgia and Turkey as well as her plans for the coming year, including her efforts to open a breast cancer clinic in Mersin, Turkey.
