Topics: Social Change
Regional focus: Europe
North America
Origin: Turkey
Fellowship: Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow

Having held senior positions at leading Turkish foundations and international organizations for more than a decade, Filiz Bikmen currently serves as a social investment and philanthropy adviser. In this capacity she works with Turkish and international foundations, companies and nonprofit organizations to develop strategies, programs and effective organizations that promote social justice and development. From 2008 to 2014, Filiz Bikmen served as Vice Chair and Chair of the Board of Directors of the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law, Washington D.C., which aims to improve laws governing civil society and philanthropy by providing information and expertise to NGOs and governments across the world. She continues to serve on their Advisory Council.

From 2007 to 2012, she served as the Founding Director of Programs and International Relations at the Sabanci Foundation, one of Turkey's and Europe’s largest foundations. 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. Prior to Sabanci Foundation, she was Director of TUSEV, Third Sector Foundation of Turkey from 2002 until 2007. Prior to her work in the nonprofit sector, Filiz Bikmen worked in Turkish and multinational companies as an organizational development and change management consultant.

She holds 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 Bikmen is a member of Turkish Women's International Network and a member of the Board of Directors at the Interaction Institute for Social Change, Boston. She is a Fellow of the Class of 2006 at the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society at CUNY Graduate Center in New York, and a guest lecturer at universities in Turkey and abroad, including the Harvard University Strategic Management for Leaders of NGOs Program. Filiz Bikmen has authored more than 30 articles and publications on subjects related to philanthropy and civil society, and has been a regular contributor to Alliance Magazine since 2004 including serving as Guest Editor for the issue on Philanthropy in Emerging Markets (March 2013). She also serves on the Stanford University Global Practitioner Council of the Program on Social Entrepreneurship and as a mentor for the recently launched Social Investment Program at the Sabanci University.

 

Last updated: 2015