Omer Ozbek is continuing his doctoral studies in Management at University of Maryland with a focus on international policy making. He holds a Master's degree in Industrial and Systems Engineering from Auburn University, Alabama and a Bachelor's degree in the same field from Sabanci University in Istanbul. Before moving to Washington DC area, he worked at grassroots organizations in the Southeastern US and coordinated many projects with local universities and institutions. He also served on the community engagement councils of several federal and state agencies in Georgia and Florida.

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Kilic Bugra Kanat is a research fellow at SETA-DC and an assistant professor of Political Science at Penn State University, Erie. He received his PHD degree in Political Science from Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University (Syracuse, NY).  He received his MA in International Affairs from Marquette University (Milwaukee, WI) and  his undergraduate education in the International Relations and Sociology from the Middle East Technical University (Ankara, Turkey).  He also holds certificates in the field of Conflict Resolution.

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Ms. Simon received her bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania. She was a 2009 recipient of the U.S. State Department Critical Language Scholarship for Turkish language study. Her research interests include U.S.-Turkish relations, Turkish civil-military issues, and the role of minorities in Turkish society. She plans to pursue graduate studies in political science and international affairs.

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Ulas Doga Eralp is currently working as a Public-Private Dialogue Expert for Fragile and Conflict Affected States at the World Bank Group. Before his assignment to Washington, DC he was working as an assistant professor of conflict resolution at Sabanci University, Istanbul .Dr. Eralp has also been teaching at George Mason University and Brussels School of International Studies (BSIS). His new book " The European Union in Bosnia Herzegovina: An Actor of Peace?" by the Lexington Books will be out in the Winter of 2012. Dr. Eralp is the author of a number of articles and book chapters on the Western Balkans, Cyprus and Turkey. Dr. Eralp received his his PhD from the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University. He also holds a BA in Business Administration from Koc University, and a MA degree in Political Science from Sabanci University. His areas of expertise include: governance, democratization processes, conflict resolution mechanisms,accountability, sustainable development partnerships, election monitoring, consociational systems, anti-corruption measures, inclusive dialogue platforms, human rights regime in Turkey, third party intervention roles in the ECA and MENA regions.

Dr. Kalın is the founding director of the SETA Foundation for Political, Economic and Social Research based in Ankara, Turkey. In spring 2009 he took the position of Chief Foreign Policy advisor to Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He received his Ph. D. from the George Washington University in Washington, DC. As a broadly trained scholar of Islamic studies, he teaches a number of courses on Islamic history and culture. His field of concentration is post-Avicennan Islamic philosophy with research interests in Ottoman intellectual history, interfaith relations, and comparative philosophy. He has contributed to several encyclopedias including MacMillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy 2nd Edition, Encyclopedia of Religion 2nd Edition, Biographical Encyclopedia of Islamic Philosophy, and the Oxford Encyclopedia of the Islamic World. Dr. Kalin has published widely on Islamic philosophy and the relations between Islam and the West. He is also among the signatories of the Common Word (www.acommonword.com), a major initiative to improve Muslim-Christian relations, and the Prince Alwaleed Bin-Talal Center at Georgetown University.

Mr. Ulutas has published on a number of topics such as Israeli politics, the Arab-Israeli Peace Process, Turkish-Israeli relations, Jewish history and culture, and Turkish politics among other topics. He has also served as an instructor of world history at Ohio State University. He previously held the Samuel M. Melton Fellowship in Jewish Studies, and is the current holder of the George M. & Renée K. Levine Fellowship by the Melton Center for Jewish Studies. He received his B.A., magna cum laude, in Political Science and Public Administration from Bilkent University in Ankara, and his M.A. in modern Middle Eastern history from Ohio State University. Additionally, he studied at Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He is currently pursuing his Ph.D. at Ohio State University and is finishing his dissertation on the immigration of Turkish Jews to Israel during the inter-war years. His research languages include Turkish, Hebrew, Arabic, and French.