Bonnie Joy Kaslan

Bonnie Joy Kaslan earned her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Davis and pursued graduate studies at Sorbonne in Paris. She served as the Honorary Consul General of the Republic of Türkiye in the San Francisco Bay Area for over three decades — a rare distinction for a non-Turkish woman. Professionally, Kaslan was Executive Vice-President of Kaslan Associates, Inc., a structural and geotechnical engineering firm based in Sonoma, California. Her deep commitment to the Turkish-American community led her to active volunteerism: she was the first woman to serve as Western Region Vice-President on the board of Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), and later became Chairwoman of its Board of Trustees. During her leadership, she championed educational outreach, history and social-science curriculum development, and advocacy for Turkish-American perspectives in U.S. public education. Over the years, she earned numerous honors for her service — including lifetime distinguished awards from ATAA and recognition from organizations supporting women and diaspora communities.