Arife Pehlivan is the Joint Programmes Coordinator at Presidency for the Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB). Her role includes establishing new partnerships in migration and international student programs with the approval of the Presidency, as well as coordinating projects in collaboration with international organisations, NGOs, and corporate entities.

Arife leads a team of seven professionals, managing communication with superiors and other units to address project needs and challenges. She adopts a corporate communication model and maintains strong connections with stakeholders in her field.

Prof. Dr. Serkan Çelik graduated from the English Language Education Programme at Uludağ University in 1999. He completed his master’s degree at Bilkent University and his doctoral education at Ankara University Faculty of Educational Sciences in Computer and Instructional Technologies in Education. Dr. Çelik also conducted postdoctoral research at the University of Texas at Austin in 2015. He worked as a lecturer at Ankara University (2004-2009) and Boston University (2007-2008). Later, he started working as an Associate Professor at Hacettepe University Faculty of Education, Department of Elementary Education. Dr. Çelik obtained the title of Professor in the same department in 2020. His research areas primarily focus on inclusive education, instructional technologies, and language education. The author has publications in these research areas at both the national and international levels.

Ms. El Haj is the Director of Knowledge & Innovation at Abdulla Al Ghurair Foundation. She has over 20 years of experience in the education sector shaping frameworks to enhance employability of graduates entering the workforce. She worked on transformative, large-scale projects to facilitate access to quality education for diverse segments and communities in a manner that accommodates and accentuates the vision of governments, strategic partners, educators, and learners.

Prior to joining the AGF, Ms. El Haj was the Director of Strategy Development and Implementation at Laureate International Universities, served on the corporate executive team of Laureate Vocational Saudi Arabia, and was the Head of Performance & Planning at Dubai’s Knowledge and Human Development Authority.

Ms. El Haj earned an MBA from the American University of Sharjah and a BA from the American University of Beirut. She is also a certified EFQM organizational assessor from the European Foundation for Quality Management.

Ms. El Haj is also a council member on the Global Councils on Sustainable Development Goals.

Dr. Emrah Cinkara is an Associate Professor in the Department of English Language Teaching at Gaziantep University. He received his BA, MA and PhD degrees in English Language Teaching and his research interests include online language teaching, teacher education and technology integrated teaching. He is also the Director of the Distant Education Center at the same institution.

Dr. Nur Incetahtacı is a faculty member at Gaziantep University in Turkey- Department of Sociology. Her focus areas are refugee families and their coping strategies, disability, migration and inclusion. She is a member of board at SANAD, NGO, for refugees with special needs. Responsible for partnerships, advocacy and localisation. SANAD is a refugee led NGO and member of Türkiye Refugee Council.

Hasret Güneş graduated from Boğaziçi University with a degree in tourism management. She started her career in the private sector and, after accumulating almost 10 years of experience in the private sector, she began working in civil society. For the past seven years, she has been working in the field of livelihoods at United Work. She has three years of experience in Business Development for United Work Turkey, followed by three years of project management experience. Currently, she holds the position of Country Representative for Stichting United Work, the most experienced civil society organisation in the field of refugee livelihoods in the country.

Ahmad Tajaldeen Jamous serves as the Programs Manager at Kudra Organisation, where he holds a pivotal role in the dynamic landscape of non-profit project management. His academic journey includes the attainment of a master’s degree, equipping him with the skills to meticulously assess and align non-profit projects.

His professional expertise is specialised in empowering youth economically and fostering entrepreneurship. Ahmad is dedicated to pioneering novel strategies and groundbreaking programs that promote innovation and enhance the overall caliber of the projects undertaken at Kudra Organisation. His steadfast devotion to creativity and excellence drives him fervently towards the objective of instigating positive social impact for the people the organisation serves.

Ola Enis, a Senior Project Officer at SPARK since 2017, and a member of SPARK’s business development team for nearly a year. With approximately 16 years of professional experience, including a decade of dedicated work in the humanitarian sector, Ola brings a wealth of knowledge to her role. Furthermore, she boasts over 5 years of expertise in leading projects activities that offer acceleration and incubation services to Start-ups and MSMEs, with a focus on enhancing the technical and contextual capabilities of Syrian entrepreneurs in Türkiye.

Ola’s professional aptitude extends to a deep understanding of the refugee context in Türkiye. She has successfully led initiatives aimed at increasing youth access to internships and employment opportunities, while also spearheading engagement efforts with the private sector to bolster the employability and resilience of the local economy.

Emre Usta is Regional Communications Coordinator at Stichting SPARK. Based in SPARK’s Regional Office in Istanbul, Emre leads the communication activities for SPARK’s projects funded by the European Union, USAID  and Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the MENA region. Emre has over ten years of experience communications and took different roles at ICANN and the Directorate of Communications within the Turkish government prior to his role at Stichting SPARK. He has extensive experience in communications strategy, content creation and media relations.

Özlem Nalbantbaşı is the Head of the Department of External Relations and the Erasmus Institution Coordinator at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University. She has been working in the field of the external relations and international students, and exchange programs unit for approximately 15 years.