G. Lincoln McCurdy

Mr. McCurdy is president of the Turkish Coalition of America (TCA), a 501©3 not-for-profit organization, based in Washington, DC.  TCA fosters understanding of Turkish American issues through public education.  (Website for TCA is www.turkishcoalitionofamerica.org)

Mr. McCurdy has over 30 years of leadership and management experience in both U.S. government service and the private sector.  He has extensive experience in dealing with bi-national boards; working with senior officials of the governments and military of the United States and Turkey; leading trade/investment missions and U.S. congressional delegations to Turkey; co-sponsoring activities with the State and Commerce Departments, Environmental Protection Agency, Smithsonian Institute and National Public Radio; and fundraising.     

He served as the senior advisor to the Turkish American Chamber of Commerce and Industry in New York in 2005 and 2006.

Mr. McCurdy was the president and chief executive officer, 1998 - 2004, and executive director, 1989 - 1998, of the American-Turkish Council (ATC) in Washington, the leading business association in the United States devoted to the promotion of U.S.-Turkish commercial, defense and cultural relations.   He received ATC's Distinguished Career Award in 2005.

During Mr. McCurdy's tenure, ATC's annual conference became the premier scheduled event in U.S.-Turkish relations and the largest bi-national business event in Washington, D.C.  Mr. McCurdy was the co-organizer of the first U.S.-Turkish Trade/Investment Mission to the newly independent states in Central Asia and the Caucasus in Spring 1992.  In May 2002, he was recognized by the American Ambassador W. Robert Pearson for “his outstanding work in enhancing commercial relations between the United States and Turkey. . . ."  He also initiated seminars focusing on other topics related to Turkey, such as study abroad programs, civil society, reduction of lead and sulfur emissions from vehicles; oil/gas pipeline issues; and environmental and sustainable development projects.

Before joining ATC, Mr. McCurdy served in the American Consulate General in Istanbul as the Consul for Commercial Affairs, 1980 - 1984.   In this capacity, he received the Department of

State's Meritorious Honor Award for “re-establishing American pre-eminence in the Istanbul International Business Community."  After government service, he consulted in Istanbul for five years for the Bank of Boston and several Turkish companies.  In the late 1970s, he worked at the U.S. Department of Commerce in Washington, DC, organizing trade shows in Brazil.

G. Lincoln McCurdy received his B.A. at Hanover College in Indiana and holds a M.A. in International Management from The George Washington University.  He is also a graduate of the Foreign Service Institute's Turkish Language and Culture Program.  In May 2001, Mr. McCurdy received Hanover College's Alumni Achievement Award.

Mr. McCurdy is a board director for the Association for Safe International Road Travel (ASIRT).  He is an advocate for smart growth and played a key role in beautifying I-66 in Arlington, Virginia, in the 1970s.  He is married with two daughters and enjoys yoga, gardening, biking and travel.

June 2007