In early March, TCA and the Atlantic Council announced a partnership to provide Turkish Americans with educational opportunities in global affairs and public policy through TCA internships at the Atlantic Council. The partnership with the Atlantic Council will be a feature of TCA’s internship program, which provides an opportunity for young Turkish Americans to work in Washington, D.C. at congressional offices and non-governmental organizations. Turkish American students interested in interning at the Atlantic Council can find information about applying by clicking here or by emailing scholarships@tc-america.org.

On March 4, TCA President G. Lincoln McCurdy traveled to New York to attend a Turkish American meeting with Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu. In his address to Turkish American community leaders, the Prime Minister encouraged Turkish Americans to be goodwill ambassadors for Turkey in the U.S. and to be active in American social and political life. Among others present at the meeting were Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan, Minister of Finance Mehmet Simsek, Turkey’s Ambassador to the U.S. Serdar Kilic, and New York Consul General Ertan Yalcin.

TCA was pleased to participate in the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) 35th Annual Turkish American Conference, which took place from March 12-14 in Washington, D.C. TCA hosted conference participants at its headquarters for a working luncheon about congressional outreach. Additionally, TCA President G. Lincoln McCurdy spoke as a panelist on education about Turkish American issues and political activism. TCA Project coordinators Liz Clark and Kate Costello led roundtable discussions about Turkish American youth programs. At the gala that concluded the conference, ATAA presented TCA with the Sukru Elekdag Award in recognition of its contributions to educating the general public about Turkey and Turkish culture and empowering the Turkish American community in civic issues.

On March 13, TCA Project Coordinator Liz Clark spoke on a panel about study abroad for the leadership development program of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute (CHCI). Clark shared information about TCA's Study Abroad Scholarships for American Students of Minority and Heritage Communities and encouraged students to study abroad in Turkey. The panel was attended by Hispanic/Latino junior and senior college students who are spending the spring interning with Congressional offices through CHCI.

On March 23, former U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Francis J. Ricciardone, who is now Vice President and Director of the Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East at the Atlantic Council, paid a courtesy visit to the TCA team during his trip to Turkey. At the meeting, Ricciardone, accompanied by the Atlantic Council representatives in Turkey, spoke with TCA about upcoming activities and collaboration.

On March 25, TCA hosted the first ever business forum on the American political system for executives of Turkish owned companies in the U.S., major Turkish American businesses, and interested American companies. Over 30 representatives from companies and business associations took part in the program, which provided an opportunity for participants to learn how to effectively communicate their business issues and interests to elected officials. In the morning, Turkish Ambassador Serdar Kilic hosted participants and Turkish parliamentarians for a roundtable discussion with Speaker of the Turkish Parliament, H.E. Cemil Cicek. Afterwards at TCA headquarters, Kemal Kirisci of the Brookings Institution briefed participants on the economic aspects of U.S.-Turkey relations and the importance of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP). In the afternoon, forum participants had the opportunity to learn about congressional issues, political activism, and grassroots organization from a variety of speakers. TCA also arranged a meeting for the business leaders at the U.S. Capitol, where they met with eight members of Congress, including Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on U.S.-Turkey Relations and Turkish Americans. For more information on TCA’s forum, please click here.

On March 25, TCA attended the U.S. Association of Former Members of Congress 18th Annual Statesmanship Awards Dinner at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium. Participants in the TCA forum for business executives also attended the dinner as guests of TCA, which was a sponsor of the event. The program featured a panel discussion with former Senator Elizabeth Dole, Senator Susan Collins, and Chairman and CEO of PepsiCo Indra Nooyi. Mika Brzezinski, Co-Host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” moderated the panel. Brzezinski also presented the Statesmanship Award to “Women of the Senate,” represented by Senator Susan Collins and Senator Barbara Mikulski; the Corporate Statesmanship Award to Indra Nooyi; and the Civic Statesmanship Award to Elizabeth Dole and the Elizabeth Dole Foundation.

On March 26, TCA President Lincoln McCurdy and TCA Project Coordinator Liz Clark attended a roundtable discussion with members of the U.S. House of Representatives and representatives from multiple Turkish political parties who were visiting Washington, D.C. as part of a delegation led by the Speaker of the Turkish Parliament Cemil Cicek. Participants discussed their perspectives on U.S.-Turkey relations and emphasized the importance of maintaining a strong partnership between the two countries.

TCA has selected 24 interns to participate in the 2015 TCA Washington Summer Internship Program. The program provides an opportunity for Turkish American collegiate students and recent graduates to intern in Washington, D.C. in offices of members of the U.S. Congress and select governmental and non-governmental organizations. The goal of the program is to foster interest in public affairs and service as well as to enhance Turkish American knowledge of American political life. Since the program's inception in 2007, TCA has provided 134 internship opportunities.