EDUCATION
2004– 2011 | Ph.D. in Political Science
Hacettepe University, Department of Political Science and Public Administration, Ankara, Türkiye
Areas of interest: Discourse Analysis, Cultural Studies, Identity Politics, Intercultural Communication
Thesis Title: Intercultural Dialogue in the European Union within the Framework of Critical Discourse Analysis

2001-2002 | M.A in Public Communication and Public Relations (with scholarship)
University of Westminster, Faculty of Creative Industries, London, UK
Areas of interest: International PR, Public Diplomacy, Perception Management, Identity Politics
Thesis Title: Armenian Conflict: An International Public Relations Case

1997 – 2001 | BA in International Relations (with scholarship)
Bilkent University, Department of International Relations, Ankara, Türkiye
Areas of Interest: International Organizations (UN, EU, OECD) and foreign policy analysis

1986 – 1997 | Primary, Secondary and High School
TED Ankara College, Ankara, Türkiye

TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Taught one semester seminar course “International Communications Project Management” at the Faculty of Communications, Eskisehir Anadolu University, 2012-2013 Academic Year, Fall Term
WORK EXPERIENCE

December 2022 – Recent | United States Department of State, Embassy of Ankara
Public Affairs Section, Public Diplomacy Manager
Serves as the senior policy and communication advisor to the U.S. Mission in Türkiye in the cultural and education exchanges domain.
Leads the Mission Türkiye’s public diplomacy engagement with primarily youth and emerging voices who are able to influence Turkish attitudes toward the U.S. using new, often digital, communication networks.
Designs and recommend strategies and oversees grant projects to connect the U.S Mission in Türkiye with Turkish NGO’s, official bodies, social entrepreneurial organizations, and educational institutions to build and sustain productive dialogue and to promote mutual understanding.
Manages cultural heritage portfolio across the U.S. Mission in Türkiye and oversees the grant projects with budget of around 4 million USD.
Directs and supervises American Spaces, educational and cultural exchanges and experiential learning programs across the U.S. Mission in Türkiye.
Coordinates protocol matters with private and public institutions and advises VIP visitors on sensitive cultural and educational issues.
Serves as the co-chair of the U.S. Mission in Türkiye Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Accessibility (DEIA) Council.

June 2008 – Recent | United States Department of State, Embassy of Ankara
Public Affairs Section, Cultural Affairs Specialist
Serves as the principal policy and communication advisor to the U.S. Mission in Türkiye in the cultural and education exchanges domain.
Designs, implements, monitors and evaluates public outreach programs supporting the foreign policy goals of the United States in Türkiye.
Develops and maintains high-level contacts with key members of government, academic, artistic, business and non-governmental institutions. Creates platforms and programs to facilitate cultural dialogue and build networks and promote people-to-people engagement.
Advises on crises communication strategies, messaging and tools to manage relations with the program partners.
Leads Mission Turkey’s overall policy, programming and engagement efforts in cultural heritage preservation in Türkiye.
Designs, plans and evaluates innovative cultural hybrid outreach programs. Identifies partners, platforms and leads mission wide implementation.
Serves as a GOR (Grants Officer Representative) and program advisor. Monitors and evaluates grant agreements with cultural and educational institutions.
Works closely with the Fulbright Commission and manages the Fulbright Senior Specialist Program.
Provides policy level recommendations on educational issues and institutions. Manages policy level projects and contacts with the Turkish Ministry of Education and Higher Education Council and maintains strategic partnerships.
Engages in traditional and social media monitoring for research purposes to shape design of the public outreach programs. Prepares reports and analysis on cultural and educational issues when required.
Coordinates protocol matters with private and public institutions and advises VIP visitors on sensitive cultural and educational issues.
Creates promotional and teaching materials, presentations and publications for public use to disseminate strategic concepts and messages. Attends meetings and conferences and deliver public speeches and remarks when required.

August 2006 – May 2008 | United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Türkiye
‘Integration of Sustainable Development into Sectoral Policies’ Project
Communications and Outreach Officer
Manages overall communication and outreach activities of the Project.
Develops and implements countrywide communication strategy and plan of action to create awareness on Sustainable Development in Turkey.
Supervises, trains and monitors contractual teams and twenty-three communications experts of sub-grant project teams for the regional implementation of the overall communication strategy.
Designs and implements awareness raising regional communication campaigns to influence decision making processes at national and local level.
Designs special activities in line with the overall communication strategy to build capacity, develop partnership and create networks on sustainable development.
Develops messages and carries out advocacy activities at international, national and local levels.
Trains sub-grant project teams on ways to integrate sustainable development concepts into their regional strategies.
Conducts public opinion surveys on sustainable development, analyzes data and prepares advisory reports to Turkish governmental bodies on ways to adopt sustainable development principles into their public communication efforts and create awareness.
Acts as the media spokesperson, assures media coverage, drafts press releases, manages timely information flow to national and local broadcasting and print media.
Prepares communication materials, web site content, feature stories, briefing notes and public presentations on sustainable development.
Manages publications, leaflets, brochures: (i) collects and organizes bilingual content, edits and works with printing companies (ii) gathers and organizes information and prepares content for the quarterly newsletters.
Manages production of advocacy and audiovisual materials.
Establishes sustainable development resource center at the Ministry of Development.
Prepares budget and monthly reports.
Works within the UN Communication Group.
Assures that communication activities are in line with the EU and UNDP visibility guidelines.