Contact:
Nurten Ural, President ATAA
Allison Block, Advocacy Director, ATAA
Tel: 202.483.9090
E-mail: president@ataa.org

Turkish Americans Gaining Power through Grassroots:
LOS ANGELES

LOS ANGELES CA, January 26, 2008-As part of its Public Outreach Plan, ATAA held its tenth Grassroots Networking meeting in Los Angeles in cooperation with the local Turkish American association ATA-SC and its president, Mr. Ahmet Atahan. Attendees gathered for a full-day conference at the Doubletree Hotel in Carson, CA, the morning portion of which was dedicated to a leadership seminar for the ATA-SC associations' board members, and the afternoon session geared towards the broader Turkish American community to educate them on advocacy issues. Participants were honored by the presence of Hon. Representative Virginia Foxx (R-NC), Turkish Consul General Hakan Tekin, Turkish Vice Consul Batu Kesmen and Azeri Vice Consul Elman Adullayev. After the presentations, the audience and ATAA representatives exchanged ideas for effective grassroots organizing in the area, from which a grassroots committee was established for the Los Angeles area. The grassroots committee co-chairs will cooperate with ATAA to ensure the continuation of these efforts in the local area.

While in Los Angeles, ATAA representatives and community members met with a representative of the Editorial Board of the Los Angeles Times, to discuss issues concerning the Turkish American population in the greater Los Angeles area, which numbers nearly 15,000. ATAA representatives also met with Honorary Consul General of Northern Cyprus Mr. Mehmet Mustafaoglu to discuss cooperation on the upcoming ATAA delegation trip. Additionally, ATAA and ATA-SC spent one afternoon with the Ahiska (Meshketian) community in San Diego.

About "Turkish Americans Gaining Power through Grassroots":

This meeting is part of a series titled "Turkish Americans Gaining Power through Grassroots," and is planned for more than 30 cities across the United States geared at activating the Turkish American community, as well as sharing information with the community on how to be more civically active citizens. ATAA's Grassroots activities are sponsored through a generous grant from the Turkish Coalition of America.

The presentations by ATAA representatives last for about one and a half hours, and include presentations by ATAA President Nurten Ural, ATAA President-Elect Gunay Evinch, and ATAA Advocacy Director Allison Block. The program begins with a presentation by President Ural, sharing general information about ATAA, its strategic and public outreach plans, and new ideas for the Turkish American community. ATAA Advocacy Director Allison Block in her presentation goes into further detail about specific skill sets and methodologies for Turkish Americans to be more effective advocates for Turkey and Turkish American issues. President-Elect Evinch closes out the seminar with an informative, detailed and fact-based presentation on issues that are currently confronting the Turkish American community. The presentation is followed by a Q&A session, where attendees can ask pertinent, timely and engaging questions. Often the audience is honored by the presence of Regional Turkish Consul Generals or Honorary Consul Generals.

More importantly, during these visits, ATAA staff assists in arranging meetings for constituents with their local representatives in Congress. Due to the fact that many members of the Turkish American community are new to such processes, ATAA makes the facilitation of this process one of its top priorities.

For a complete schedule please contact Allison Block, Advocacy Director, at the ATAA Headquarters at: 202.483.9090.