On June 27, The Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans (Turkey Caucus) reached a major milestone with the addition of its 154th member.  The Turkey Caucus, which is one of the largest Congressional caucuses that seeks to strengthen bilateral ties between the U.S. and various international allies, currently has representation from 44 of the 50 states and all six territories. For more information, please click here.

TCA hosted the National Association of Attorneys General and attorneys general from four states in Turkey between June 1 - 9. The delegation, cosponsored by the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was led by Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler and included David M. Louie of Hawaii, Lawrence G. Wasden of Idaho, and Chris Koster of Missouri. Please click here for more information.

For the second year in a row, top Republican leadership in the U.S. House of Representatives met with Turkish American business and community leaders in New York on June 25 to discuss U.S.-Turkey relations and Turkish American political activism.  The meeting, which was chaired by TCA President G.Lincoln McCurdy and included NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions of Texas, Deputy Chairman Greg Walden of Oregon, and Turkey Caucus Co-chair Rep. Virginia Foxx, highlighted the importance of Turkish Americans being in touch with their congressional representatives and educating elected officials about U.S.-Turkey relations.

A group of geography teachers visited the TCA Istanbul office on June 22. The teachers were visiting Turkey on a study tour organized by the Oregon Geographical Alliance at Portland State University with support from a grant by the Turkish Cultural Foundation.

On June 28, the TCA Istanbul office hosted a delegation from Ohio, which included the Mayors of Dayton, Trotwood and Riverside, Ohio and several representatives of the area's public and private institutions. The delegation was visiting Turkey to explore business, educational and civic exchanges between the greater Dayton area and Turkey, as well as to introduce Ohio as a business and investment destination for Turkish businesses. The delegation was brought together by Islom Shakhbandarov, President of the Ahiska Turkish American Community Center in Dayton. Dayton is home to one of the largest Ahiska Turkish communities in the country. The delegation's visit was partially sponsored by TCA, as part of the special assistance grants and programs by TCA for the Ahiska Turkish community, which is the newest group of Turkish immigrants in the United States.

A new book, The Transnational Turn in American Studies, released by Peter Lang publishers and edited by Tanfer Emin Tunc and Bahar Gursel is now available. The book, supported in part by a grant from TCA, seeks to initiate a transnational dialogue between Turkey and the United States by examining American Studies from a Turkish perspective and highlighting the contributions of Turkey to American culture.

On June 20, TCA participated in a web-seminar (webinar) organized by NANA Development Corporation - an Alaska Native entity based in Anchorage, AK. The webinar brought together TCA and Royal "Putu Harris," a former TCA scholarship recipient of Alaska Native heritage, along with twenty-four NANA interns and two administrators to discuss the advantages of studying abroad in Turkey while highlighting various TCA-based and other scholarship opportunities available to Native American, Native Hawaiian and Alaska Native students.