Mustafa Kemal Abadan, is a retired design partner from the world renown architectural firm Skidmore Owings and Merrill LLP (SOM). Throughout his 40-year career in New York City, he practiced as an architect with a worldwide reach, completing many award-winning buildings on five continents. Amongst his most recognized projects are The Islamic Cultural Center, Time Warner Center, and CUNY John Jay College in New York and Tokyo Mid-Town in Japan, Guoco Tower in Singapore and AIA Tower in Hong Kong. In recognition of his exemplary service to the architecture profession he was elected as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects in 2007, and in 2023, Mr. Abadan was honored at the 100-year anniversary of the Republic of Turkiye as one of the country’s 100 most important Architects. Mr. Abadan has served for more than 40 years as a lecturer, design critic and adviser to Dean’s at architecture schools, including Cornell University, Harvard’s Graduate School of Design, and Columbia University’s Graduate School of Architecture. Mr. Abadan, who was one of the 6 founding members of the Turkish Philanthropy Funds in 2007; has recently returned to his passion in helping Turkish communities here and Turkiye; and serves as the Chairman of the Board of TPF, the most respected Turkish community foundation in the USA. In recognition of his tireless contributions to his native and adopted societies, Mr. Abadan received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in 2016.