Board of Directors
Our founding members and working group who shape the vision of the Yeni Herkul Platform and contribute to social dialogue through their extensive expertise.
Mehmet Emin Şan
Platform Founder & PhD in Applied Mathematics
Born in Istanbul in 1973, Mehmet Emin Şan graduated from Istanbul Technical University (ITU) in Mathematical Engineering in 1995. Following graduation, he taught mathematics at Quba High School in Azerbaijan between 1995-1998 and played an active role in the Azerbaijan Mathematics Olympiads program.
He continued his academic studies at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), where he was accepted with a full scholarship in 1998, and completed his PhD in Applied Mathematics in 2004. He served as an Assistant Professor in the Mathematics Department at Fatih University between 2005-2006. Since 2008, he has been managing Certified Dental Supply LLC, a company he founded in the USA. Şan is also the founder of the Yeni Herkul Platform, a civil initiative aimed at promoting dialogue, reconciliation, and constructive interaction on issues concerning Turkish society. He has been married since 2000 and is the father of two sons and a daughter.
Halil Bal
Business Person & Educator (MBA)
Born in Erzurum in 1976, Halil Bal graduated from Atatürk University, Faculty of Educational Sciences, Biology Department in 2000. He began his career in journalism, working at the Erzurum bureau of Zaman newspaper. Later, he turned to the education sector, serving as a teacher and administrator for many years in various schools and private educational institutions in Konya and Istanbul. Between 2011-2016, he held significant leadership roles, including school principal at Istanbul Fatih College.
In 2016, Bal went to the USA for language training and later settled in Canada in 2017, where he obtained Canadian citizenship. Continuing his professional development, he successfully completed his Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Ontario Learn Academy in 2024. Currently living in Canada with his family and managing his own restaurant business, Bal is married and the father of two sons.
Ümit Öztürk
Operations Specialist & International Trade Strategist
Born in Erzurum in 1982, Ümit Öztürk spent his childhood in Istanbul. After studying at Naval High School and later Anatolian High School, he crowned his interest in technical fields with a degree in Business Administration. Öztürk received language training in Italy in 2007 and has been living in Germany since 2008. In the early stages of his career, he served as an educator and administrator in Hizmet movement institutions. After 2016, he continued his professional career as an Operations Specialist in official institutions such as BAMF and the Social Welfare Office, as well as international organizations like Deutsche Bank and Bankpower GmbH.
A polyglot, Öztürk is proficient in Turkish, German, Italian, and English, and can communicate at a basic level in Spanish and Arabic. Having overcome chronic kidney failure through a successful organ transplant in 2026, Öztürk sees this process as a testament to his life energy and resilience. He holds a worldview centered on respect for different faiths and human dignity. He is married and the father of triplets (two boys, one girl).
Cemal Satılmış
Community Volunteer & Theologian
Born in Bayburt in 1968, Cemal Satılmış graduated from Izmir Imam Hatip High School in 1986. Early in his career, he served as an imam at Hakkâri Ulu Mosque. After graduating from Erciyes University, Faculty of Theology in 1995, Satılmış taught Religious Culture and Ethics in Ankara. Between 1998-2011, he served as an executive in his family business in Izmir. Returning to public service, he worked as an imam in Kayseri and as a teacher and religious consultant for children aged 12-18 at rehabilitation centers under the Izmir Provincial Directorate of Family and Social Policies.
Satılmış moved to the USA in 2016 and subsequently settled in Canada in 2018, obtaining Canadian citizenship in 2024. During his time in Canada, he has served as a volunteer imam at Vaughan Masjid and continues to contribute to civil society activities as a volunteer member of the Embrace Islamic Society. Working in the family business alongside his children, Satılmış continues to play an active role in social peace and solidarity projects.
Dr. Bekir Çınar
Academic & Security Strategies Expert
Born in Sivas in 1964, Bekir Çınar graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Political Sciences (Mülkiye) in 1988. He consolidated his expertise in international law and politics through MPhil and diploma programs at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, in the United Kingdom. In 2007, he completed his PhD at the University of Hull with a thesis titled "Counter-Terrorism and Security Services in Liberal Democratic Countries."
Throughout his career, Dr. Çınar served at the Republic of Turkey State Personnel Presidency and the Police Academy, followed by academic positions at various universities in Poland, Albania, and Turkey. Living in the United Kingdom since 2016, where he manages his companies in the food and real estate sectors, Dr. Çınar simultaneously continues his strategic research and writing as an independent academic.
