Born and raised in Istanbul, and based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Yağız has been passionate about language, particularly his native Turkish since a very young age. He has a master's degree in Linguistics from Boğaziçi University, has over 10 years of experience teaching Turkish to non-native speakers and has taught Turkish summer intensive group class programs at Boğaziçi University, the top Turkish language program in the world, and at University of Pittsburg. In addition to English and Turkish, Yağız is also fluent in German, and is currently working on Russian and Quechua. Yağız is also an accomplished translator and interpreter. Besides his impressive language experience, Yağız is a performing musician, music teacher, specializing in Greek, Turkish and Balkan music, and a writer.

Senior Turkish Language Instructor

Meltem

Meltem is an experienced Turkish Language Instructor and an analytical linguist with a PhD in Linguistics from MIT and a Master of Arts in Linguistics from Boğaziçi University. With over 17 years in academia, including teaching and research at Boğaziçi University, Meltem specializes in generative linguistics, particularly syntax and its interfaces with morphology and semantics. Her research spans a variety of languages, including Turkish, Turkmen, Noghay, Kazakh, Japanese, and Turkish Sign Language (TİD), with several publications based on detailed linguistic data analysis.

Meltem has also co-led international teams in major European projects, such as the SIGN-HUB project, focusing on digital grammar development for sign languages. As an instructor, she has taught English and Turkish as foreign languages, developed curriculum, and co-coordinated intensive programs aimed at teaching academic Turkish. Passionate about pedagogy and linguistics, she is excited to join the Turkish Program team.

Senior Greek Language Instructor

Orestis

Orestis is a native Greek speaker with extensive experience teaching the language. As a Greek instructor, he uses diverse teaching methods to tailor lessons to each student’s needs and abilities. Fluent in English and French, Orestis co-owns a publishing company in Athens specializing in philosophy, literature, and biographies. He began teaching Greek while living in the US and has over a decade of experience, including roles at the Greek School of the Annunciation in Sacramento and as a Greek interpreter. Orestis is also a professional musician, lyricist, and songwriter, known for his work in Greek music, especially Rebetica/Rebetiko.

Linguistic Justice Expert

Çağla

Çağla is a philosopher and a linguistic justice activist. She is currently working on her dissertation as a Ph.D. Candidate in the Philosophy Department at Syracuse University. Her research is about linguistic agency with a special focus on nonnative speaking. She tries to understand what it is like to navigate the world with different languages and different kinds of expertise in each of these languages. She is particularly interested in ways in which nonnative speaking changes the speaker's relationship with their own mind. Çağla is also an active member of various linguistic justice initiatives. In addition to impeccable English and Turkish, she is also fluent in French.

Co-Founder, Director of Community Engagement & Partnerships

Elena

A lifelong time language lover, Lola is fluent in English, Russian and French, and is currently studying Turkish. Lola has over 12 years of experience conducting research on Education in the international development context, and is now running research on language learning, developing the programs marketing and communications materials, and leading events for Halbuki.