Staff
Hakan Atasever, Executive Director | h.ata@rumiforum.org
Hakan Atasever is a nonprofit leader and educator with more than two decades of experience building bridges across cultures, faiths, and communities through education, dialogue, and service. His career began in Cambodia, where he spent nearly 15 years as a teacher and school administrator and led a nonprofit focused on educational initiatives and projects supporting underserved communities. After moving to the United States in 2019, he served as Executive Director of the American Turkish Friendship Association (ATFA), where he led programs promoting civic engagement, intercultural understanding, and support for newcomers. Today, Hakan serves as Executive Director of the Rumi Forum in Washington, D.C., bringing together leaders from diverse faiths, cultures, academia, government, and civil society to foster mutual understanding through respectful dialogue and collaboration. Throughout his career, Hakan has been guided by a belief that strong communities are built on trust, genuine relationships, and a willingness to learn from one another. His work focuses on turning dialogue into meaningful action and strengthening communities across differences.
Tezcan Inanlar, Director of Leadership Development | t.inanlar@rumiforum.org
Tezcan Inanlar serves as Director of Leadership Development at Rumi Forum. Previously, he was Director of Corporate Social Responsibility at Cydeo, a global tech education company focusing on workforce development from 2018 to 2024. In addition to his professional work, Tezcan has passionately advocated for human rights and religious freedoms. He co-founded “Where Is My Family,” a nonprofit organization advocating for Uyghur human rights. Between 2009-2018, Tezcan served as Director of the Pacifica Institute in SoCal and Seattle, extensively working on interfaith dialog and depolarization. Tezcan has served on the advisory board for the Seattle University School of Theology & Ministry and the board of F.I.R.E. (Fostering Interfaith Relations in the Eastside), an interfaith alliance in Seattle. Tezcan holds an MA in Islamic Studies and Leadership from Bayan Claremont Islamic Graduate School, a “Leadership, Organizing, and Action: Leading Change” certificate from Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education, and an MS in Mechanical Engineering from Clemson University. Tezcan is a fellow at the American Muslim Civic Leadership Institute, an alumnus of the FBI Citizens Academy, and a member of Braver Angels.
Mehmet Saracoglu, Ph.D., Director, Center for Faith, Identity, and Globalization | m.saracoglu@rumiforum.org
Dr. Mehmet Saracoglu is a community organizer with academic experience who brings passion and leadership together. Previously, he served at Rumi Forum as the Public Affairs Director, Government, Media, and Community Affairs Director (Washington, DC), and Executive Director (Maryland).During his graduate studies at the University of Kentucky, he served as the founding president of the Interfaith/ Intercultural Dialogue Organization. Mehmet is an alumnus of Leadership Montgomery`s 2019 Emerging Leaders cohort. He is a member of the United Nations Association-National Capital Area, National Press Club, and Public Diplomacy Council`s Citizen Diplomacy International. Dr. Saracoglu holds Mining Engineering degrees from Istanbul Technical University (B.S.), and the University of Kentucky (M.S. and Ph.D.). He received a Religious and Civic Leaders certificate from the Religious Freedom Center at the Freedom Forum Institute and a Training of the Trainers certificate from Freedom of Religion or Belief Learning Platform. He is a 2023 BJC (Baptist Joint Committee) Fellow.
