Esin Erkan

Esin Erkan leads the substantive research and messaging development for all AAM projects, bringing her background in the Middle East and education in international affairs to bear on the drama and documentary programming that AAM produces. A native of Istanbul, Turkey, Erkan spent her childhood in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, living among Turkish expats and other families from the Middle East. After returning to Istanbul she spent 8 years at Lycée Saint Benoît, a French Jesuit school in Istanbul that educated both Muslims and non-Muslim minorities in Turkey. She received her B.A. in International Relations from French speaking Galatasaray University, before moving to Washington DC in 2002. In Washington Erkan worked for research programs on US foreign policy and US-Turkish relations in various think-tanks. She received her Master of Science in Foreign Service degree from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service, and after graduating she worked with former national security advisor Anthony Lake. With America Abroad Media (AAM), Erkan has researched and developed content for the organization’s award-winning documentary radio show America Abroad, develops content for its large-scale documentaries and TV productions, and is an executive producer of the Awards Dinner.