Aslı Özelli joined AmCham Türkiye in July 2018 as Executive Director. Before joining AmCham, Aslı was the Deputy Secretary General at DEIK (Foreign Economic Relations Board).
Aslı Özelli is elected as Member at Large to AmChams in Europe (ACE) Executive Committee for the terms 2022-2023 and 2024-2025. ACE is the AmCham Network covering 44 countries in Europe and Eurasia.
She also is nominated as a Million Women Mentorship Program Ambassador by U.S. Chamber, to support MWM’s goals between American companies in Turkey as part of STEM initiative.
During her career at DEIK for 18 years, Aslı was in charge of 27 different countries (United States, Albania, Argentina, Austria, Bosnia Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Croatia, Ecuador, Germany, Greece, Italy, Kosovo, Macedonia, Malta, Mexico, Montenegro, Peru, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Spain, Switzerland, Venezuela) Business Councils and Sectoral Business Councils (Health Tourism Business Council, Higher Education Business Council (studyinTurkey), Energy Business Council, Logistics Business Council and International Consultancy Business Council.)
After graduation, she worked as an advisor for the then NATO Parliamentarian Committee Turkish Chapter Chair and worked for Ericsson Marketing department in Ankara, respectively. During her university years, Aslı had internships as a legal officer at UNCHR Ankara and as a journalist at Deutche Presse Agentur (DPA) in Ankara.
Aslı earned both her undergraduate and graduate degrees from Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ)International Relations. She graduted from Izmir Ozel Turk High School and was selected among few for the first American Intercultural Student Exchange (AISE) Scholarship program where she had her Junior High Year in Seattle, WA. She is married with 2 kids.
asli.ozelli(at)amchamturkey.com
Pınar Işlak is the Communications Director of AmCham Türkiye since March 2016, responsible for external relations covering media relations, social media management, event coordination, sponsorships, and content creation including written or digital materials and talking points for the Chair.
Pınar gained extensive communications experience at Citibank, one of the leading global banks, between 2006-2014 as the Communications and Public Affairs Executive. During her role at Citi, she was responsible for media relations, reputation and crisis management, internal communications, event management and corporate social responsibility. Pınar also contributed to the top management reporting to the Chief of Staff to the CEO for four consecutive years (2010-2014). Prior to joining AmCham Türkiye, Pinar also worked as a visiting Communications Associate in 2015 at AmCham UK, based in London.
During her professional career Pınar led numerous international and local projects including but not limited to: AmCham Awards (2019-present), AmCham Women Executive Mentorship Program (2016-present), Citi Micro-Entrepreneurship Awards (2006-2014), Citi Global Community Day (2006-2014), Citi Foundation Annual CSR Projects (2006-2014).
Pınar also organized and contributed to high-level events including: AmCham Awards Galas, AmCham Türkiye-U.S. Business Summit, Citi European Advisory Council Türkiye Summit, IMF 2009 Annual Meetings Istanbul, Citi 200 Years Events, FT Türkiye Summits, EuroFinance Annual Conferences.
Pinar gained her undergraduate degree in Sociology from Boğazici University. She holds an MBA degree from Galatasaray University and an MA degree in International Marketing from Cardiff Met University, UK.
pinar.islak(at)amchamturkey.com
Hande Yurtsever joined AmCham Türkiye as Finance and Administration Director in April 2023. She has been continuing to work in business organizations for more than 17 years. After receiving her bachelor’s degree in International Relations, she started her career at the Turkish Foreign Trade Foundation.
She has worked in different roles at the International Investors Association (YASED) for 9 years. She is experienced in financial management, human resources, event organization, member relations. After completing her Master’s Degree in Public Relations and Corporate Communications at Bilgi University, she has worked as the Finance and Communications Coordinator at the Mobile Telecommunicatons Operators Association.(m-TOD )
In parallel with her business life, she takes voluntary roles in different organizations as a member, founding member, volunteer founder, member of the supervisory board and member of the board of directors including Alpindak Nature Sports Club, Açık Açık Association, KODA, TOG, TEGV. As a civil society professional, she works as a volunteer to increase the institutional capacity of many non-governmental organizations.
She is also a Mindfulness Trainer (with the Eline Snel method) and Happiness Coach (Berkeley Well-Being Institute California). She is the member of the board of the Professional Women’s Network Association (PWN İstanbul) as a treasurer and leader of PWN Angle Circle Network Project and she is actively involved her volunteering roles.
hande.yurtsever(at)amchamturkey.com
Nesibe Kırış joined AmCham Türkiye in September 2023 and assigned as Government Relations Director.
Nesibe’s academic foundation in law and sociology from Koç University became a stepping stone for her into the realm of governmental affairs and public policy consultancy. With over 4 years of experience, she has been able to contribute to Turkey’s tech scene, working with notable start-ups and established tech companies.
In her journey, Nesibe also lent her expertise to Ussal Consultancy as a Public Policy Consultant from August 2019 to December 2022. In this role, she delved into areas such as technology policy and diplomacy, while also engaging in governmental relations and B2B diplomacy.
In July 2022, Nesibe initiated Web3 Brew, a newsletter demystifying topics like AI and blockchain for over 3,000 subscribers. Through Web3 Brew, she provides a digest of latest developments, keeping her readers informed and engaged. Nesibe continued to share her insights as a Public Policy Columnist/Advisor with CoinDesk Türkiye and also took on a mentorship role at Hackquarters in London, extending her reach to budding tech startups.
nesibe.kiris(at)amchamturkey.com
Elif Soyer joined AmCham Türkiye as Member Relations Coordinator in August 2022, and has been assigned as Member Relations and Business Development Director in 2024. Elif has almost 30 years of professional experience, including 23 years experience of management, air express, OHSAS, advertising and NGO. She has intense expertise in all level of sales, people management, project management. Before joining AmCham Turkey, Elif has worked as project coordinator for the German‑Turkish Partnership Professional Skills Development Project. The project is funded and managed by the German Ministry of Federal Economic Co‑operation and Development (BMZ) by sequa.de. Elif gained her undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering from Istanbul University. She completed her master’s degree at Uskudar University (Occupational Health and Safety) and Istanbul Medeniyet University (Management of Non-Governmental Organizations). She is married with a son.
elif.soyer(at)amchamturkey.com
Dağlar Yaraşır joined AmCham Türkiye in 2024 as Project Manager. After graduating with honors degree from the Department of Political Science and International Relations at Istanbul University in 2019, she gained experience as a long-term intern at Sabancı University – Istanbul Policy Center.
Her master’s studies completed at Boğaziçi University equipped her with a wide range of skills in applying qualitative research methods for her master’s dissertation. During her student exchange program in the Netherlands at Maastricht University, she completed courses on EU Studies, while continuing her studies on the socioeconomic context and origins of sustainable development goals. Throughout her master’s education, she served as an assistant and advisor to women civil society leaders on various topics including gender equality, women’s economic empowerment, youth studies, entrepreneurship, and contemporary development and economic growth issues. Dağlar currently coordinates projects for diversity and inclusion, sustainability, and the food, agriculture, and livestock committees at AmCham.
Dağlar is the youngest member of the Turkish University Women’s Association, which is the branch of Graduate Women International (GWI) in Türkiye.
daglar.yarasir(at)amchamturkey.com