Bahar Özay

Coordinator, UN SDSN Turkey

Bahar Özay, coordinator of SDSN Turkey, is an accomplished and respected banking and corporate business executive with extensive experience in multi-national banking and professional and governmental organizations. She is a member of Sustainable Development Goals Committee of Turkish National Commission for UNESCO, Zero Waste Committee of the Union of Municipalities of Turkey and Executive Board of İzmir Sustainable Urban Development Network. She conducts projects for WWF Turkey, Boğaziçi University Center for Climate Change and Policy Studies (iklimBU) and lectures on sustainability and UN SDGs at Boğaziçi University Lifelong Learning Center (BULLC) and iklimBU. Earlier in her career, Ms. Özay worked for Akbank Private Banking, Garanti Bank and Istanbul Stock Exchange. She provided local and global investment opportunities for Turkish and international clientele via banking and financial products, wealth management and stock exchanges. Currently, Ms. Özay conducts her PhD studies at Boğaziçi University, Political Science and International Relations Department on Turkish Climate Policies, her thesis entitled “Policy Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Addressing Climate Change: The Case of Turkey”. She holds two graduate degrees. She received a master’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from Boğaziçi University on European Studies. She also holds a master’s degree from Marmara University on Capital Markets and Stock Exchanges. She conducted double-major studies and earned B.A. in Administrative Sciences and Management and B.A. in Political Science and International Relations from Boğaziçi University. She is fluent in English and French and beginner in German.