Becoming a Public School Board Member

Dear Turkish American community:

Join us for an insightful webinar where we’ll explore what it means to serve as a public school board member. A public school board position can be a stepping stone to a political career. Three distinguished members of the community who have demonstrated exceptional courage and commitment in running for this important position will be our guests. Their experiences and insights will inspire and inform your own journey.

Looking forward to see you at the webinar!

Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA) presents a webinar on

“Becoming a Public School Board Member”

Sunday, February 2, 2025, 12pm EST

or scan QR code below.

Guest Speakers

Zeyna Pruzhanovsky
Candidate for School District Governing Board, Chandler, AZ

Sel Erder Yackley
Elementary School Board Member, Ottawa, IL

Dr. Onur Arugaslan
Mattawan School Board Member, Kalamazoo, MI

Moderator

Nilüfer Esen-Bilgin
President, Assembly of Turkish American Associations

Biographies

Zeyna Pruzhanovsky

Zeyna Pruzhanovsky is an elementary teacher on the Gila River Indian Community in Blackwater, Arizona. As a district parent, she was a candidate for the Chandler Unified School District Governing Board in 2024. Zeyna earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with Political Science through the University of Kansas in 2002 and a Master of Arts in Elementary Education from Arizona State University in 2014.

Receiving over 46,000 votes, she was within a 1.3 % margin to win. During her campaign, Zeyna shared her Turkish culture by preparing over a dozen trays of baklava. Her father, Lütfi Özkan, is from Tarsus, Türkiye. Zeyna continues to be a voice for teachers, families, and youth in the Chandler, Arizona community.

Sel Erder Yackley

Sel Erder Yackley is believed to be the first Turkish American elected to public office when she was elected to the Elementary School Board in Ottawa, Illinois, serving from 1976 until 1987. Afterward she was elected to the Illinois Valley Community College Board of Directors, in a seven-county race, serving from 1987-1997. She is also noted to be a published author, businesswoman, and an award-winning journalist having worked for United Press International and the Chicago Tribune.

Dr. Onur Arugaslan

Dr. Onur Arugaslan was elected to serve on the Mattawan Consolidated Schools Board of Education in November 2022 and his term expires in December 2028. Previously, he served on the same Board from March 2019 through December 2020 after being appointed to a vacated seat. His board experience also includes two other local non-profit organizations (Kalamazoo Country Day School and Crescendo Academy of Music) during 2013-2019.

He is a Founding Co-Director of the Sanford Center for Financial Planning and Wellness, the Director of the Personal Financial Planning Program, and a Professor of Finance at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. He has published 22 articles in various academic journals including the Journal of Finance and the Journal of Corporate Finance in addition to a book chapter on Turkish Civilization. Arugaslan holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Bilkent University in Ankara, Turkey and a Ph.D. in Finance from the University of Texas at Dallas. He has three daughters and lives on Eagle Lake in Texas Township.