Turkish Women’s League of America (TWLA)
Established on September 17, 1958 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in New York, Turkish Women’s League of America (TWLA) aims to preserve and teach Turkish language and culture to the future generations. The association is one of the oldest active Turkish-American organizations in the USA and it also hosts the New York TWLA Atatürk School, which has been a pride since 1971.
Another important task TWLA carries out is the activities that will enable friendship and understanding between American and Turkish women and to support the work of other similar public institutions.
Under the leadership of Ms. Sermin Özçilingir, who has been the president of the organization with great success since 2009, various social and cultural meetings, conferences, seminars, art exhibitions, concerts, theater events, book signing days for the benefit of its members and the Turkish community living in the New York region.
Atatürk mentioning Turkish women who wrote history in the War of Independence, once said, “Oh the hero Turkish woman! You are worthy not to crawl on the ground, but to rise to the skies on the shoulders!”
With this awareness, Turkish Women’s League of America works devotedly with institutions and non-governmental organization to achieve and preserve the deserved respected place of women in the society.
TWLA Mission Statement
TWLA Board of Directors
TWLA Board of Directors, 2021-2023
Sermin Özçilingir-President
Sermin Özçilingir was born in Kayseri in 1954. She has been living in the USA since 1993. She has been serving for many years in TWLA which is committed to the successful integration of women into the economic and social life in the United States. She serves as the President of TWLA since 2009. During her term as a president, she brought women together by organizing various panels and symposiums by Turkish and American experts in their fields related to the issues women encounter and their solutions. Sermin Özçilingir is the mother of four children.
Fatma Aldaş -Vice President
Fatma Aldaş is a retired Financial Consultant, stockbroker and international private banker. She served as Vice President and Customer Relations Manager at JP Morgan Chase Bank. She retired after 35 years of service in the financial sector. Fatma Aldaş is married and has two children. She has two wonderful grandkids that she loves endlessly. Her youngest daughter is a graduate of New York Atatürk School. Fatma Aldaş has been serving on the Board of Directors of TWLA since 2006.
Berna Gurdal-General Secretary
Berna Gurdal graduated from Hacettepe University Faculty of Nutrition and Dietetics in 1997 and worked as a corporate dietitian at Panorama Food Company between 1997-1999. Between 1998-2005, she worked as a clinical dietitian at Internal Medicine Department of Uludağ University and made presentations at various congresses. Her work on the treatment of diabetes was published in the book Diabetes Mellitus in 2006 Berna Gürdal who has been living in New York since 2005, received the Child Nutrition and Cooking Program Certificate from Stanford University. She is married and has two children. Her son graduated from New York Atatürk School since 2017. She has been serving on the Board of Directors of TWLA since 2017.
Banu T. Ozaman
Banu T. Ozaman
A member of the board at Turkish Women’s League of America (TWLA) since 2021, Banu Tulug Ozaman was born in Istanbul in 1969 as one of four children of a banker father and a homemaker mother. Following the completion of her formal training on child development and education, she continued her career at White Plains YWCA in New York where she came after getting married. Banu loves children, traveling, nature, animals -especially dogs-, is currently working as a teacher at a daycare center in Queens, New York and married with two children .Her son Ege graduated Ataturk school since 2015
Belgin Ekinciler
Burçin Rutherford
Esra Doǧru
Filiz Pınar
Gülcan Demiroz
Işılay Baran
Mine Yenigün
Mrs Mine Yenigun joined the Turkish National Police under the Ministry of Interior in 1992 as Civilian Staff Assistant for human resource management of the Turkish National Police constituted 200,00 police personnel in 81 provinces within Turkey. She is a first degree graduate from Eskişehir Açıköğretim İktisat Fakültesi. In 1995, she was posted as Staff Assistant, within the Department of Police Personnel for management health records and welfare provision of the Turkish National Police deployed around the country. In addition, she had the responsibilities to manage duty shift record for personnel to manage safety and security of the National Police Headquarter. She has obtained excellent performance during her service is currently retired from the Ministry of Interior. Mrs. Yenigun is married for 25 years and has two children whom of which are both graduates of Ataturk School .
Nevra Ölmez
Özlem Koldemir
