2020 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

KOSOVO UNITED STATES ALUMNI

A L U M N I A S S O C I A T I O N E S T . 2 0 0 7

W W W . K U S A L U M N I . O R G | P R I S T I N A , K O S O V O | 0 4 4 - 5 7 3 - 0 6 6 ELECTION RESULTS

322 26 11 NEWLY ELECTED VOTERS CANDIDATURES MEMBERS

Arta Agani 117

Rozafa Ukimeraj 101

Shkëndije Himaj 91

Fjollë Caka 87

Sytrime Dervisholli 81

Mjellma Carabregu 81

Elvira Dushku 74

Erblin Hoxha 73

Dejan Jankovic 73

Bleta Zeqiri 72

Nora Latifi 70

0 25 50 75 100 125 ARTA AGANI

Arta Agani (1973) lives and works in Prishtina. Since August 2016, she is the director of The National Gallery of . She is also a professor of Typography at ‘Akademia Evolucion’ for Communication Design. Her professional career encompasses design, as her primary profession, artistic projects and exhibitions, concentrating in managing artistic projects, and curating several exhibitions. Her most recent engagements were in 2017 as curator of Kosovo Pavilion at the 57th Biennale with artist Sislej Xhafa, as well as commissioner of Kosovo Pavilion at the 58thVenice Biennale with curator Vincent. In the period of August-September 2010, she was part of international program IVLP of the Department of State of USA, ‘Promotion of tolerance through art’ with study visits in Washington DC, , North Carolina and Los Angeles. It is worth mentioning the participation in the lecture for Art Management by Michael Kaiser from Kennedy Performing Arts Center USA, held in Zagreb, Croatia in October 2010 and ENAM Conference on Innovation (European Association of Alumni Organizations) in Nicosia, Cyprus 2013.

BLETA ZEQIRI

Bleta Zeqiri is a business owner of a local venture, Chocolate Corner. She founded the company in 2007 and imported foreign brands of chocolates for the enjoyment of her chocolate loving clients. As she furthered her passion for entrepreneurship, she grew happy with the number of devoted returning clients. This pushed her to look into offering pralines and other products 100% made in Kosova. Which she has, successfully.While she devotes much of her time at Chocolate Corner, she also teaches at a private language school in Kosova, a job she has kept for over 15 years now. She has become one of the directors of the school which allows her to design the courses and encourage innovative approach to learning. In addition to these, she has been a board member of KUSA since 2015. She is happy to be part of KUSA and always ready and interested to share the knowledge gained in the US with others. Recently, she proudly led the project ‘Empowerment through leadership’ which was held in the schools of Kosova. She was one of the instructors that taught English, advocacy, negotiation, responsibility to young girl leaders. DEJAN JANKOVIC

Dejan Jankovic was part of the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP). He currently serves as a Deputy General Director in the Kosovo Police force. Dejan would be a great addition to the Board of Members. His experience and education, as well as willingness to contribute to volunteering activities, makes him one of the most active KUSA members. Mr. Jankovic has participated in the recent KUSA Project in 2019, where he was a club coordinator for the MDAO II “Extracurricular activities” Project. He successfully coordinated the school clubs in the Municipality of Sterpce.

ELVIRA DUSHKU

Elvira Dushku is current Secretary General of the Kosovo Basketball Federation. Ms. Dushku is a former basketball player (1999-2007). She won 6 titles of champion and 7 trophies of the Kosovo Cup with BC University from Prishtina. Ms. Dushku in 2017 was part of the Global Sports Mentoring Program. She graduated in 2018 in the FIBA TIME OUTProgram.Ms. Dushku in 2019 was elected as a member of the FIBA Europe Youth Commission for the term 2019- 2023. After finishing her career as an active basketball player, she started working as a sports journalist. From 2010 to 2015 Ms. Dushku was the Chairperson of the Board of the Independent Organization for Sports Education in Kosovo (OESK), an organization formed by SISU from Sweden. Also, from 2007 to 2015 she worked on a voluntary basis in the basketball club Prishtina (Women) in the role of coordinator. ERBLIN HOXHA

Erblin Hoxha – has been working with CSO projects for the past 8 years with organizations such as Lëvizja FOL, BIRN, Debate Center, CDF, Venture UP, etc. He is experienced in project design and project implementation, strategic planning focusing on education as well as capacity development training and workshops in the area of soft skills, youth leadership and activism. He holds a MA Degree in International Political Economy from The University of Texas at Dallas and a BA degree in Political Science from the University of Pristina. He currently works as the Executive Director of Debate Center – a CSO specialized in critical thinking and public speaking curricula, and as a Project Management Consultant at Lëvizja FOL. By nomination to become KUSA board member, Erblin wants to increase the impact of KUSA alumni in becoming the driving force for positive change in Kosovo.

FJOLLË CAKA

Fjollë Caka is an architect and urban planner from Prishtina. She has a BS. in Architecture, a BS. in Sociology, and a M.Sc. in Architecture obtained at the University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina”, as well as an M.P.S. in Sustainable Urban Planning (focused on Climate Change Management) at the George Washington University (GWU) in Washington, D.C. Since 2012, she has been engaged on various projects related to urban planning, sustainable and climate resilient development, cultural heritage, monuments and places of remembrance, and has coordinated the organization of several architecture and arts related educational and cultural events around Kosovo. While in the United States, she was affiliated with the Wilson Center and the World Bank, led the Sustainable Urban Planning Student Organization, and received two awards due to her extraordinary academic achievement and contribution to the university life (George Washington Award & George Washington Alumni Association Prize, 2018). Currently, Fjollë is a PhD candidate in Environmental Management at the South East European University (SEEU), and works for the Inclusive Development Programme at UN-Habitat. Fjollë invests her academic knowledge and professional expertise on building sustainable cities and communities, and is actively engaged towards inclusive development and positive changes in Kosovo and beyond. MJELLMA CARABREGU

Mjellma Carabregu Vokshi is a Teaching Assistant at the Faculty of Economics, University of Prishtina “Hasan Prishtina” in Kosovo, Department of Economics. Ms. Carabregu Vokshi attended a program on higher education in the United States during 2017 through the Open World Leadership Program. Her experience and academic development in the U.S. has been transmitted in Kosovo in the form of numerous contributions through constant engagement with Kosovo United States Alumni (KUSA). She has received KUSA Alumni Award of the Year in 2018. Her professional experience includes development and implementation of different projects on higher education, funded by different international organizations: European Commission, Council of Europe, USAID, U.S. Embassy, Austrian Government etc. She has participated in teams to draft different strategies and legal frameworks related to higher education in Kosovo and the Balkans region. She has also published several articles on higher education and impact of information communication technology on the improvevement of socio- economic outcomes. Her research interest inlcudes: impact of Information and Communication technology on poverty and inequality reduction; digital skills; gender empowerement.

NORA LATIFI JASHARI

I am currently the Executive Director of GAP Institute, which is one of the leading and most influential think tanks in Kosova. I received a BS with highest honors in Management and Entrepreneurship and Public Policy from RIT Kosovo, and through the Fulbright program, I earned an MA in Economics from Northern Illinois University, USA. As an alumna, I am involved in local projects implemented by relevant stakeholders to make positive changes to our society. I am very much interested to see the economic empowerment of women in my country, where the participation and representation of women in the labor market would help Kosovo to grow. ROZAFA UKIMERAJ

Rozafa Ukimeraj Çuni was born in Prizren on 4th of August 1982. She studied law and due to her great success shown during studies, has been awarded with the degree cuma laude “Distinguished Student”. She holds a Master degree in Public Administration and pursued her further postgraduate studies in the field of Public Administration and International Relations in the USA. During her undergraduate studies, she was awarded a scholarship from the University of Pristina and also received a scholarship from the USAID’s fund for her graduate studies. She also passed the Bar Exam. Due to her engagement on KUSA’s voluntarily activities, on 2018 she received the “Alumni of the Year” award. Rozafa started her professional career in the private banking sector. She has a nearly fourteen-year work experience in public administration. She held the position of the Director of Department of Local Self-Governance for five years, while as of 2013 she headed the Department for European Integration and Policy Coordination within the Ministry of Local Government Administration. On 31 March 2016, Rozafa was assigned as Acting Secretary General in MLGA, while on 16 September 2016, she was appointed Secretary General in the Ministry of Local Government Administration.

SHKËNDIJE HIMAJ

Shkendije Himaj is the Coordinator for General Functions at the Central Bank of Republic of Kosovo (CBK) in charge of overseeing the departments of Financial Stability and Economic Analysis, Risk Management, Finance, Legal and External Relation. On behalf of the CBK, she chairs the Management Board of the Deposit Insurance Fund of Kosovo and Macroprudential Committee. Ms. Himaj is engaged academically as a Lecturer in the Field of Finance, Management and Leadership and contributes with her writing to a wide range of academic publications. She holds a Masters of Economic Science – Finance and Accounting and a BA in Economics from University of Western Ontario and is a PHD candidate at the Faculty of Economics-University of . As IVLP alumni, she has been actively involved in implementing community-based projects on a voluntary basis designed for youth and women empowerment. She was elected KUSA Board member in 2015. SYTRIME DERVHISHOLLI

Sytrime Dervisholli was born in Prishtina in July 1984. She is Director of Trade Department in the Ministry of Trade and Industry. She is National Contact Point in CEFTA Agreement. She is Chair of National Trade Facilitation Committee. She is Head of Committee of Free Trade Agreement between Kosovo and Turkey. She was Deputy Head of negotiating team of Kosovo for UK-Kosovo Free Trade Agreement. In 2017 she was awarded by the Kosovo Manufacturer's Club on precious contribution in the economic development and tireless work in the promotion of Kosovo products. In 2016 she was awarded by the Kosovo Association Milk Producers for the given contribution in the development of milk sector in Kosovo. During 2006-2008 she was scholar of the German Foundation "Konrad Adenauer". During October-November 2008 she was intern at the European institutions in Brussels and Strasbourg. During July-August 2013 she attended the IVLP on "Trade and Economic development". She is the author of the book titled "Opportunities to the Foreign Investment in Kosovo". She is the author of "Manual on Foreign Investor". Sytrime holds Master on Science on Public Administration from RIT Kosovo and Bachelor degree on Banks, Finance and Accounting from the University of Prishtina.