BOARD

Board Members Bios

Vijdan Korman (President) has been with the World Bank since 2004. She started her bank career in PREM Network and spent four years working on poverty-related issues and cost-benefit analysis. Then, she moved to Africa region to work on regional issues including assessment of country policies and institutional quality. She contributes regularly to the annual CPIA Report and bi-annual Africa Pulse reports. In her previous professional life, Vijdan was an adjunct faculty at Northeastern University, Boston, and a research analyst at Harvard Institute for International Development. She graduated from University of Leicester, England and received her Ph.D. in Economics from Northeastern University, Boston.  Vijdan’s research interests focus on project appraisal, poverty impact assessment, and assessment of macroeconomic policies, and measurement of institutional quality.

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Sukru Dogan (Secretary) is the manager at Millcraft LLC. He was born and raised in Kahranmaras,Turkey. He is a graduate of higher education in Turkey. He has been in education services for about ten years. Sukru was a teacher  of a private school in Turkey. He migrated to the United States, nearly thirteen years ago. He also worked as a teacher in  the US ( pinnacle academy) He produces different types of extracurricular activities. Sukru believes that if you educate children with love, you will reach a goal easily.

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Evren Culha (Treasurer) is an experienced educator who has spent more than 13 years in public education. He currently works as the principal and head of school of Harmony DC Public Charter School in Washington, DC where he was a member of the founding team and served as assistant principal for four years before becoming a principal. Prior to working for Harmony DC, he worked in different charter schools in Louisiana as a math teacher and assistant principal. As a teacher, he used his engineering background and experience to introduce STEM programs to students in underserved communities. His students, under his supervision, prepared science fair and STEM projects and successfully participated in city and statewide competitions. Evren also served as one of the STEM ambassadors of DC STEM Network and did STEM outreach in Washington, DC. Evren has been a board member of Core Education since 2018. He also volunteers for the events Core Education organizes. He holds a Bachelor’s in Industrial Engineering and a Master of Education in School Leadership.

Ekrem Hamid Cetinkaya is a first-generation Turkish-American, born and raised in Virginia. He is a first-year medical student at Rowan School of Osteopathic Medicine and is the president of the Rowan SOM Class of 2024. Ekrem is also a National Ambassador for the Health Careers Opportunity Program and is working with a team of undergrad and high school students to find solutions to the opioid crisis. Ekrem obtained his BS in Cellular and Molecular Biology from Christopher Newport University and got is MS in Physiology and Biophysics from Georgetown University.

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Necmi Mutlu, professor of information technology at Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) where he has been a faculty member since 2009. Mutlu received a B.A. from Black Sea Technical University in Turkey, a M.Sc. from Bogazici University (Formerly Robert College) Istanbul, Turkey, and a PhD in Information Technology from George Mason University Fairfax VA. His teaching and research interests include topics in Information Technology, Cybersecurity, Programming and Education.  He joined the faculty of NVCC at the rank of an Assistant Professor in 2009 and will become full professor in August 2017. Before joining NVCC, Dr. Mutlu was Senior System Engineer at Alcatel / STMicroelectronics, Raleigh, NC.  Dr. Multu has completed the NVCC Leadership Program and has been a member of NVCC Personnel Services Committee.  Dr. Multu is an active member of Turkish-American Community in the greater Washington DC metropolitan region. He has been a board member of foundations primarily on Education. As a community leader, Dr. Multu has been frequently addressing the local community on the issues related to education, youth leadership and social integration.  Dr. Mutlu has conducted surveys and analysis  on challenges that second generation Turkish immigrants have been facing in the USA.

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Derya Soydan is an Economist, Designer, and Social Entrepreneur, with a long experience in establishing and running education institutions, social organizations, and home design companies.  Soydan is currently a Founder and Designer of Noble Homes & Design and the Co-Founder of Noble Corps, an Investment and Development company.  Soydan believes in the education of young leaders to uncover their potential and become global citizens that lead to positive change.  In this regard, Soydan continues to pursue this mission as a Board Member of Core Educational Services since its inception. Core ES provides educational services to the youth to support the development of their academic and social capital.

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Nebahat Cetinkaya is an experienced Arabic and Quran teacher, born in Adapazari, Turkey. With a degree in Arabic Language and Literature from Istanbul University, she has served as a weekend school principal and teacher in Virginia for many years. Despite acceptance at the Loudoun County Public School Welcome Center. Currently, Nebahat teaches Quran through online education.

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Ekrem Cavus, executive director of Core Educational Services, is a seasoned educator with 30 years of experience. Born and raised in Istanbul, Turkey, Ekrem holds a higher education degree and has served as a private school principal in Turkey. After migrating to the US 16 years ago, he now offers a variety of extracurricular activities and believes in educating children with love to achieve success.