Executive Director of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund
Nina Ozlu Tunceli is both chief counsel of government and public affairs at Americans for the Arts as well as the executive director of the Americans for the Arts Action Fund. For 30 years, Ozlu Tunceli has served as the chief policy, advocacy, and political strategist for both organizations, representing the nation’s 4,000 local arts agencies and mobilizing more than 420,000 arts activist members in advancing the arts in America. After helping to secure several arts funding provisions in the recently passed CARES Act, Economic Aid Act, and American Rescue Plan, Ozlu Tunceli provided free weekly Zoom office hours and regular webinars since the start of the pandemic in March of 2020. She continues to provide customized technical assistance to thousands of artists and arts organizations in successfully tapping billions of dollars in pandemic economic relief aid, including Shuttered Venue Operator Grants, Paycheck Protection, COVID EIDL, Tax Credits, NEA funding, and more. Ozlu Tunceli also spearheads the ArtsVote: Make Your Vote Campaign every federal election cycle, featuring artwork by Shepard Fairey as well as customized state voter factsheets and social media ads to educate voters on new state election rules and deadlines to effectively cast their vote. Ozlu Tunceli has a bachelor of arts degree from George Washington University and a juris doctor from the University of Richmond.