Filiz Bikmen
Chair, Board of Directors
Filiz Bikmen is a social investment and philanthropy adviser, helping individuals and organizations develop strategic giving and social change programs.
For a term of nearly six years, she served as the the Director of Programs and International Relations at the Sabanci Foundation , culminating as of December 2012. During her tenure, Filiz led the design and implementation of a new strategy for the Foundation which included an extensive grant program for social development, a TV/social media program to highlight the work of 'Changemakers' in Turkey, Joint Programs with Turkish government and UN agencies to promote women's empowerment, curating and moderating the 'Sabanci Foundation Philanthropy Seminars' and expanding the Foundation's international relations. In 2011, she was elected by the membership of the European Foundation Center to represent the Sabanci Foundation as a member of the Governing Council (www.efc.be). Prior to Sabanci Foundation, Filiz was Director of TUSEV, Third Sector Foundation of Turkey for five years, during which she led the development and implementation of a new strategy of advocacy, research, programs and international relations to strengthen and innovate Turkey's non profit sector.
Filiz serves as Vice Chairman of the International Center for Not for Profit Law, which aims to improve laws governing civil society and philanthropy by providing information and expertise to NGOs and governments across the world. She is also a Fellow of the Class of 2006 at the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at CUNY Graduate Center in New York (funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation), a regular lecturer at Universities in Turkey and abroad, an author of several articles and publications on subjects related to philanthropy and civil society, and a regular contributor to Alliance Magazine since 2004 (www.alliancemagazine.org). Filiz also serves on the Stanford University Global Practitioner Council of the Program on Social Entrepreneurship.
Prior to her work in the nonprofit sector, Filiz worked in Turkish and multinational companies as an organizational development and change management consultant. Born and raised in New York, she grew up as a 'third culture kid', spending most of her summers in Turkey with extended family until she moved to Istanbul in 1999. She has a Masters degree in Organizational Psychology from Columbia University and a dual degree in Psychology and Business Communications from the State University of New York. Filiz is a member of Turkish Women's International Network, which is a vibrant and global networking platform for women with family, cultural or professional ties to Turkey.