Hakan Barberson

HAKAN BARBERSON

Hakan was born and raised in Turkey, where he began his career as a professional musician, radio host, and TV producer in 1994 in Istanbul. After working at various radio and television stations, he relocated to Chicago in 2001. There, he taught foreign languages and music as a full-time instructor at the Science Academy of Chicago. He also produced and hosted a weekly TV program called “New Horizons” for Turkish Radio Television (TRT), which focused on the Turkish diaspora in the United States.

For 15 years, Hakan worked with various non-governmental organizations in different roles. He served as an executive board member for Refugee One, Faith Bridge, and the Illinois Conference of Churches. Additionally, he has given numerous lectures and public speeches at universities, schools, institutions, and cultural centers.

Hakan holds a B.A. in Linguistics from Fatih University in Istanbul and a M.S. in Communications from Northwestern University. He is also a graduate of the Executive Scholar in Non-Profit Management program at Northwestern University's Kellogg Business School.