A Committee Rooted in Heritage, Open to All

Pelin Hoşkan San is currently pursuing a second bachelor's degree in Art and Art History at The University of Texas at Dallas and plans to continue her graduate studies in Interdisciplinary Arts.

She earned her first bachelor's degree in Mathematical Engineering from Yıldız Technical University in Istanbul, Türkiye. After graduation, she spent five years in London working as a Database Developer before transitioning to a career as a Customer Relationship Management (CRM) Specialist, where she also completed a marketing program at Guildhall University.

Driven by a lifelong passion for the arts, Pelin made a successful midlife career transition to pursue visual arts. Her artistic journey began with her first exhibition, The Street Vendor's, in Istanbul. Her photography has received multiple honors, including the Best Photo Award for Loneliness, juried by Barbara J. Mason, and recognition as the featured artist at the Envision Arts Show for her photograph Chairs, curated by Ginger Cochran.

A defining moment in her artistic development came through her first darkroom photography experience at Collin College under the mentorship of Elizabeth Mellott. Working with an analog camera and developing film by hand deepened her appreciation for traditional photographic techniques and inspired her to pursue formal studies in art.

Pelin is a passionate advocate for the arts, education, cultural diplomacy, and philanthropy. She is a Founding Member and Former Co-President of the Turkish American Visual and Performing Arts (TAVPA), Arts Committee Chair of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), Coordinator of the ATAA USA Newsletter, and Director of the Contemporary Education Foundation (COEDFO). Through her leadership in these organizations, she develops initiatives that promote artistic excellence, advance educational opportunities, foster cultural exchange, and connect communities through the transformative power of the arts.

Yücel Burdurlu was born and raised in Istanbul Türkiye. After receiving her Bachelor's degree in chemistry from Hacettepe University Ankara Türkiye, she continued her graduate studies at California State University Long Beach.

After graduating, she started a career in private industry working on applied and theoretical research on coatings and coating raw materials. Yucel worked for Imperial Chemical Industries formerly known as ICI Paints North America in their Strongsville Research Center most of her career in the international innovation team where she was involved variety of interesting projects in collaboration with their Slough Laboratory in Slough, England, ICI France in Rouge, France and ICI South America Research Center in Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Next, Yucel worked for BUNGE Oils North America where, she worked with inorganic synthesis of anticorrosive pigments and tested them in collaboration with Batelle Laboratories in Columbus Ohio, University of Southern Mississippi and Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio, Texas.

Presently, Yucel is with True Value Manufacturing in Cary Illinois as a Research Chemist. Yucel lives in the suburbs of Chicago. She joined TACA's Board of Directors in 2013-2015 and she was the Director of the Ataturk School and the Adult Turkish School 2014-2015.

Yucel also has been a member of the Chicago Turkish Festival Planning Committee and a volunteer in the festival since 2013 and has served as the Volunteer Coordinator for the Chicago Turkish festivals in 2016 and 2018. Yucel is planning to continue working on bringing Turkish and American groups together using her organization skills, people skills, education skills and her passion for harmony and peace.

Dr. Nilüfer Esen-Bilgin was born in Giresun and raised in İstanbul, Türkiye. She graduated from Marmara University Medical School in Istanbul in 1990, and got a specialty degree in physiology at Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Medical School in 1995. She worked as a faculty at Kocaeli University Medical School Department of Physiology.

In 2002, she moved to the United States, and lived in Arkansas for 6 years and worked at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences. Since 2008 she has resided in Michigan. She worked as a Research Associate at Wayne State Medical School Department of Neurology until her retirement in 2021.

She has held several key leadership roles on the ATAA Board of Directors, including serving as the Mid-Central Region Vice President (2017–2019), First Vice President and Secretary General (2020–2021), President-Elect (2022–2023) and President (2023-2025). Since May 2025, she has been serving as the Past President of ATAA.

Before joining the ATAA board, she was actively involved with the Turkish American Cultural Association of Michigan (TACAM). She served as the president of TACAM between 2015 and 19, during which her leadership increased the awareness about the Turkish culture in the community, and increased the membership to the association. She initiated and completed the Atatürk Park Project in Michigan which was opened in 2019 as the largest park named after Atatürk in the USA.

In addition, she actively participates at the Michigan based Turkish folk dance group Mozaik Dance Group, and the USA branch of KAHEV (Kadın Hekimler Eğitime Destek Vakfı).

Alev Wieland has a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering from the University of Cincinnati, OH. She worked for Balcan Engineering at Procter & Gamble as a Project Engineer for 7 years, and retired from PepsiCo, Inc. as AMEA Capability Director in 2012.

Alev has extensive experience in Lean Manufacturing, Lean Product Life Cycle Management, Equipment and Processes Development, Project Management, Construction Management, Food Manufacturing, Paper Converting, Cosmetics and Laundry Soap Industries. She has a solid understanding of Engineering, Manufacturing and Operations Processes, and is an expert in ISO 9001 and GMP Certifications and Standards. Alev is the CEO of Manufacturing Excellence Technical Services and Alev Cosmetics.

Alev has been serving as the President-Elect of ATAA since May 2024. She served on the ATAA Board of Directors as the Southwest Region Vice President from 2020 to 2024 and as First Vice President from October 2023 to May 2024. Alev also serves as the co-Chair of the ATAA UN Relations Committee and Chair of the ATAA Newsletter Committee.

She has been the Secretary General and NGO Relations Director of the Contemporary Education Foundation (COEDFO) since 2013, responsible for organizational communication, meetings management, documentation, and website management. As a Trustee and active member of the Turkish American Association of Northern Texas (TURANT), she has provided organizational operations support to its elected board members and helped execute projects since 2000.

Since 2008, Alev has taken an active role at her local Main Street Organization and International Community, helping organize major festivals that have become key events providing income to the city. She served as President of the Cincinnati Turkish American Association (CTAA) from 1994 to 1996.

Since 2023, Alev has served as Trustee of the Turkish American Visual and Performing Arts (TAVPA), and since March 2024, she has served the Dallas Turkish Businesswomen's Network as Advisor.

İbrahim Onaral received a Bachelor's Degree from Robert College in Civil Engineering and a Master's Degree from Bogazici University. He is a structural engineer by profession. He has worked as a bridge and structural engineer in a variety of positions both in the US and overseas. As a young bridge engineer, he participated in the construction of the first suspension bridge over the Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey.

Currently he serves as an Associate for LS Engineering Associates in charge of two offices in South Jersey and in Philadelphia. Previously he served as a Vice President for QBS International, Inc. in charge of the Bridge Department and Business Development.

A couple of decades ago, motivated by the need to defend the Turkish Culture and history against unfair and unjustified attacks by various anti-Turkish lobbies in this country, he decided to join the Turkish American organizations with the hope and determination of making a difference. He has served for the local Turkish American organization in the Philadelphia area TAFSUS (Turkish American Friendship Society of the United States) at various positions such as board member, as President and Vice President in the last 20 years.

As a TAFSUS board member and as a Turkish American, he has written articles and participated in radio programs fighting against articles, and news distorting and misrepresenting Turkish history and culture. He has been a member of ATAA since 1979. Currently he serves as the past president and treasurer of TAFSUS.

He also served two terms (2009-2013) as the ATAA Vice President for the North Central region. During his tenure as the regional vice president for ATAA, he organized various grassroots efforts and cultural events to increase awareness of Turkish American interests in his region and to promote ATAA as the national organization for Turkish Americans. He is married to Banu Onaral and has one son. He lives in Philadelphia, PA.

Erkan Demirağcı was born and raised in İzmir-Karşıyaka, Türkiye. He graduated from Dokuz Eylül University with a degree in Business Administration and moved to the US in 1994 to continue his graduate studies. After working in various companies in management positions, currently, he has been working as a Senior Mortgage Loan Consultant & Real Estate professional since 2003.

Erkan resides in the Orange County, CA and has been an active member of the Turkish American community since 2012. He has been serving on the board of Orange County Turkish American Association (OCTAA) and the Association of Turkish Americans of Southern California (ATASC). He has served as the president of OCTAA between 2018-2023.

He is passionate about social entrepreneurship, leadership, and promoting grassroots efforts in the Turkish American community. He has also served at the World Affairs Council of Orange County as a Program Committee Council member to help create better relationships with other communities (2016-2020).

Erkan has always been a strong proponent for all issues important to the Turkish American communities in California and the West Coast. Since he became the president of OCTAA, he has established close and sincere relationships with local, state, and federal administrators to protect the interests of the Turkish American community. Mr. Demirağcı served as the ATAA Western Region Vice President from 2023 to 2025.