ZEHRA GÜNGÖR, PhD IPRA
Board Member and President of STAGE Communications Consultancy

Ms.Zehra Güngör was born in Ayvalık-Turkey. She completed her lower education at Izmir Education College (Bornova Anatolian High School).

She studied British and American literature, linguistics, classical Greek, librarianship and pedagogy during her higher education. She finished the English Philology Department of Istanbul University's Literature Faculty.

She received a sufficiency certificate in German, completing courses at Goethe Institute in Germany.

She wrote her M.A. degree thesis on "Total Quality Management in Public Relations" in the Public Relations Department of Marmara University's Communications Faculty. She finished her thesis named "Application of Communications Management in Diplomacy" and got PhD degree in the same university.

She started journalism as a trainee in Cumhuriyet newspaper in 1982. She has worked at Günaydın (reporter), Istanbul Yeni Asır(editor), Ekonomik Bülten (news editor), and Milliyet (economy columnist).

Winning a scholarship from the Prime Ministry's Press and Publication Information General Directorate, she worked as a trainee in journalism in New York in 1987 for one year. She worked as a reporter and editor at McGraw-Hill group's publications (Business Week, Securities International, Construction Week, Oil Gram News/Price, Aviation Week, Health Business, Global Alert, etc.).

Winning scholarship from the Japanese Foreign Ministry, she developed her journalism skill about Japanese economy and media in Japan.

Having special permission from People's Republic of China, she visited Tibet as a journalist and covered an article about Tibet.

She received the Turkish Journalists' Association's prizes for best reporting in 1996, best series reporting in 1998 and best reporter of 1999.
Her novel "Yasak Ülke” about Dalai Lama has been published in May 2000.

In 1999 she established STAGE Communications Consultancy (www.stagepr.com). She is president and the owner of the company. In 2008 she founded another communications company named Dokuz Organization.

Zehra Güngör who knows English (well), German (moderately well), Spanish and Greek (little) is a member of Turkish Journalists' Association, Turkish Public Relations Association (TUHID), Public Relations Consultants Association (HDD-Board Member) , International Public Relations Association (IPRA – Board Member), Propeller Club, Woman Entrepreneurs Association (KAGIDER- Founding Member and Ex Board Member), Yeşilyurt Sports Club and Ayvalık Tennis Club.

She is married and is the mother of Melisa. She lives in Istanbul-Turkey with her family.