Turkish Heritage Organization Non-Resident Fellows and Communications Manager, Savannah Lane, will travel to Turkey next week. The U.S.-based Non-Resident Fellow participants include: Alen Amini, Chief Operating Officer for WhoWhatWhy focused on business and technology; Danielle Khan, Special Assistant to Ambassador Swanee Hunt; Alpcan Karamanoğlu, Data Analyst focused on international political economy and transatlantic relations; Kaylee M. Laakso, Partner at Program Management & Planning Lead, L&M Strategic Solutions, LLP, focused on security and foreign policy; Ezra Mannix, Digital Content Strategist and Editor, Center for Financial Inclusion, Accion focused on education and refugees; and Coby Vail, Program Officer at Utah Council for Citizen Diplomacy focused on exchange and public diplomacy.

Since September, Non-Resident Fellows have worked to contribute to constructive dialogue surrounding U.S.-Turkey relations and Turkey's role in the international community. The group of Fellows is composed of graduate students, young researchers and professionals, and practitioners with a special interest in U.S.-Turkey relations, bringing a diverse set of backgrounds and perspectives to discuss the U.S.-Turkey relationship. In particular, Fellows focused on security, education, humanitarian aid and refugee issues, energy, economy, technology, citizen diplomacy, and international exchange.

While in Turkey, the Non-Resident Fellows will meet with different think tanks, non-governmental organizations, businesses, and officials to share their perspectives and engage in constructive dialogue on the various issue areas that the Fellows have focused on throughout the past nine months. These critical conversations will help foster an understanding of how to better support the development of initiatives that enrich people-to-people ties between the U.S. and Turkey.

Previously, the Turkish-based Non-Resident Fellows traveled to Washington D.C. for a week in May of this year, and performed the same tasks their U.S.-based counterparts are about to undertake in Turkey. The participants of the Turkish-based Non-Resident Fellows included: Ipek Arıoğul, a Senior Economic Advisor in the British Embassy in Turkey focused on researching issues surrounding the economy; Sarah Khalbuss, Co-Founder of Istanbul & I focused on research surrounding Syrian refugees and refugee integration; and Özge Taylan, a Ph.D. candidate in International relations focused on research on security, the economy, and history.

During their time in the U.S., the Turkish-based Non-Resident Fellows had valuable conversations with think tanks, officials, and THO advisory board members around U.S.-Turkey relations, including discussions around the importance of a US-Turkish partnership, economic development, the Washington D.C. perspective of US-Turkish relations, the role of the Congressional Research Service, different educational programs and systems, and the importance of grassroots advocacy.

Thank you to our sponsors Turkcell, Turkish Airlines, ITO (Istanbul Chamber of Commerce), ATO (Ankara Chamber of Commerce) and Amerikan Estetik for supporting this program and encouraging the vital conversations that took place. We are eager to see these global change-makers bring back an increased understanding of the U.S.-Turkish relations from the Turkish perspective!

To learn more about about the Turkish Heritage Organization and the Non-Resident Fellowship program visit our website found here.