Sehnaz Engur (President)

Sehnaz Engur was born and raised in Turkey. She moved to the US in 1996. She studied Industrial Engineering at Purdue University. She has a Masters degree in Operations Research from Georgia Tech in Atlanta, GA and an MBA from Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University. She worked for United Airlines in various roles in Planning and Stategy and currently works as Sr. Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis at Fiat Group. 
She has lived in Chicago since 2001 and has been an active member of TACA. She served as secretary in the TACA board for 2008-2009 term. She has also been a volunteer teacher at the TACA Ataturk School for four years and coordinates both children and adult education programs.

Burcu Agar (Vice President)

Burcu Agar has been in the US since 1998 and living in Chicago since 2002. She's been a part of TACA since she moved to Chicago. She served as a board member between 2002-2004. She was in charge of memberships, website and e-newsletters for that period. She served as the Festival Director for Chicago Turkish Festival in 2004. She is married and has two children. She has a master's degree in Supply Chain Management from MSU and works as a consultant in this field. She speaks 3 foreign languages in addition to Turkish and English. She has a personal blog on practical parenting.

Naile Berna Kovuk (Secretary)

Naile Berna Kovuk was born and raised in Turkey. After finishing Gazi Anatolian High School in Ankara, she came to Chicago to study Computer Science and Economics at Northwestern University, where she was the president of Turkish Student Association. She is currently a fixed income trader at DRW Trading Group. Naile Berna has been an active member of the Turkish community in Chicago, including several other non-profit organizations such as Finans Network and TACCI-midwest.

Born in the city of Chicago, United States, Eylem Hocaoglu's involvement with TACA and Turkish Folklore began in 2004.  Also, during this time she was double majoring in Finance and Accounting at Loyola University-Chicago.

Eylem was the co-founder of the Turkish Intercultural Club at Loyola. She has held Vice-President, Treasurer and Student Advisor positions in the organization. She was also a National Society of Collegiate Scholar and a member of the Finance and Real Estate Club.

Eylem graduated from Loyola University-Chicago with a B.B.A in Accounting and Finance. After graduation, she began working at a brokerage firm as an Accounting Analyst. In addition, she is studying to become a CPA.

Hakan Akgun was raised in Bursa and has graduated from Bursa Anatolian High School. He holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Istanbul Technical University and an Executive MBA degree from Bogazici University. He is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professional, and a member of NFPA (National Fire Protection Association), Turkish Chamber of Mechanical Engineers (MMO) and Turkish Society of Heating, Air-conditioning and Refrigeration Engineers (TTMD). During his high school and university education he played basketball for Bursa Anatolian High School, ITU Mechanical Faculty, Oyak Renault, Efes Pilsen and Turkish Airlines. He also coached youth basketball teams of Efes Pilsen during his university education. He is fluent in English and has basic knowledge of French.

Hakan Akgun first came to the United States in 1989 as an exchange student, under IAESTE program, and began working for Hyatt Hotels Corporation as Corporate Management Trainee. Since then he has served Hyatt in different engineering roles at various locations. Currently, he holds the position of Vice President of Engineering for International Operations and Technical Services based at Hyatt’s corporate headquarters in downtown Chicago. He has been contributing in the design, construction and operation of numerous hotel s around the world in collaboration with a broad range of stakeholders. He is also spearheading the development of new design and operational strategies, standards and policies within his functional area with strong emphasis on sustainability. He has relocated between Chicago and Istanbul a few times and lived in the US for a total of 11 years. He has been a TACA member since 2007.

Mehmet Emre Furtun

M. Emre Furtun received his undergraduate degree in Political Science and International Relations from Beloit College, phi beta kappa, as a valedictorian of his class. Before pursuing a graduate degree in Public Policy Analysis from the University of Chicago, he worked as a strategy intern at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) and participated in the Leadership Development Program at the Middle East Institute, where he organized a number of policy events. He also undertook a summer internship position at the World Bank. Upon receiving his masters degree, he joined the transfer pricing division of NERA Economic Consulting, where he continues to work as a senior analyst. Concurrently, Emre is also working toward earning his MBA degree  from the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business. Emre has been a volunteer teacher at the TACA Ataturk School and has actively involved in the restructuring of the school curriculum and operations.

Ozgur U. Gocmen was born and raised in Izmir, Turkey. He received his  BS in Civil Engineering from Celal Bayar University. After arriving in the US in 2000, he served on the board of directors at the Society of Turkish American Architects Engineers and Scientist (MIM),  New York in 2001. He completed his MSc degree in Project Management  specialized in Construction Management from Northwestern University. Currently, Ozgur works for Walsh Construction as a Project Manager in the Building Division.  He has served as a volunteer teacher at the TACA Ataturk School since 2008.

Taylan Orhon

Taylan Orhon is a creative designer who dedicates his work to the retail & commercial industry; Born and raised in Konya, Turkey, Taylan completed his undergraduate degree from Selcuk University concentrating in Business. With a passion for design, he came to the United States to study and obtained his Master of Fine Arts degree in Interior Architecture at Columbia College in 2004. In addition to his academic achievements, Taylan is a LEED Accredited Professional (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) promoting sustainable awareness & design and is currently focusing his work at RGLA Solutions, Inc. in an array of retail design projects across the nation. Taylan is an active TACA member for the pass four years and has volunteered teaching at TACA Ataturk School as well. He currently holds a secretary post at a non-profit organization, Turkish American Association Cultural Exchange (TAACE). In his spare time, he enjoys reading, photography and scuba diving – Taylan is a PADI certified Advanced Open Water Scuba Diver.

Kemal Ozer

Kemal Ozer was born in Turkey. He graduated from Gazi university in1982 as a civil engineer.He completed his military service in Urfa/Suruc in 1984 and went to Libya for 2 years as a construction site engineer. He came to United States in 1987 to study at SUI in Carbondale, IL. He has been working on computer hardware field since 1990. He is the current owner of the Nova Computers,Inc. He served as the vice president in the previous TACA board of directors and is currently active member of T.A.A.C.E., Skokie Festival of Cultures and Skokie Lions club.

Baris Tasdelen

Baris Tasdelen was born in Istanbul and raised in Bursa and Istanbul. He has a BSEE from ITU, and has been living in Chicago since 2006. He has been a member of TACA since then. He has taken active role in the festival since 2004, developed the website, maintained it through years, and helped with production of printed materials. He has been in the BOD for TACA in the 2008-2010 term, and managed the website, membership database and newsletter. Currently he is working at enVista as a logistics analyst. 

Levent Yagci was born in Mardin in 1968. He graduated from Dokuz Eylul University, Environmental Engineering in 1990. After having his MSc degree in Environmental Engineering, he worked at Unilever Turkey in various departments between 1997 to 2000 and became the Supply Chain Administrator before leaving the company. He came to Chicago in the year of 2000 and started managing the Turkish food supplier www.bestturkishfood.com till this day. He also manages commercial properties with Tunca Group USA since 2004. He is currently member of TACA, ATAA and TACCI Midwest.