Etrita Ibroci is a Senior Vice-President at Kepler-Cheuvreux – the largest Pan-European equity broker. For the last nine years she focused on Pan European Equity Research Sales.  Her prior experience includes work with Merrill Lynch as an International Strategist and Credit Suisse. There, she built her career doing global thematic and sector strategy analysis for close to 8 years – both on the firm’s sale side and buy side. While working for Credit Suisse Private Banking, she designed a number of proprietary theme-based portfolios, product structures and global indices.

Etrita graduated from St. John’s University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science, and with a minor in Philosophy of Law and Theology (magna cum laude). She also holds an Executive MBA from Fordham University in Finance and Management Systems (also magna cum laude).

She has a passion for languages, and speaks fluently Albanian (native), Serbo-Croatian (native), English, Spanish, and Italian. At an intermediate level, she also speaks Russian and German.

She has continuously been involved with many Albanian non-profit organizations and is also one of the founders of the Albanian-American Professionals and Entrepreneurs Network (APEN).

Hilmi Gashi was born in 1967 in the city of Prizren, Kosova. He completed his high school in Prizren and then continued onto the Faculty of Economic at the University of Prishtina. Unfortunately, for economic and political reasons he was forced to interrupt his studies at the University of Prishtina. In 1992, he resumed and completed his studies in Economics at the University of Freiburg. Since, he completed a postdoc as Manager of Non-Profit Organizations at the same university.

His professional career in Switzerland is typical of many other migrants. Initially, he worked as a house painter, interpreter and officer at the local radio. Upon leaving the RaBe Radio he started working at the Swiss Red Cross as a coordinator of an information and employment center for Kosovar Refugees. Subsequently, he held project manager positions for integration programs in Switzerland.

Starting in 2005, Mr. Gashi has been working at the Unia Workers Union. At first he was the national representative for migrants from former Yugoslavia, Western Balkans and other non-EU countries.  Since 2009 he has been co-chairman of the Unia Berner Oberland region.
In addition to his professional achievements, Mr. Gashi is also an active volunteer. Among others, he is part of the leadership for the albinfo.ch platform, head of the Integration Committee at Bern and co-leader of the Solidarite sans frotieres society which works to protect migrant rights.

Indira Kartallozi is the founder and director of Chrysalis Family Futures – a social enterprise that stands for the protection and empowerment of human and socio-economic rights of vulnerable and marginalised families and children. She is also the founder of the Migrant Entrepreneurs International – a global network connecting migrant entrepreneurs and promoting their positive social and economic contribution worldwide.

Her work has taken her to various countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. In the UK, she works as a Legal Advisor for Freedom From Torture, and previous role as a Senior Case Worker for Baobab Centre for Young Survivors in Exile, and a Welfare Rights and Housing Advisor at Haringey Migrant Support Centre.

In 2015, Indira was a top 5 finalist in the Migrant Woman of the Year. She is also on the Advisory Board of the Social Enterprise Reporting Awards, an initiative of CSR Nigeria, and Kosova Changemakers initiative in Kosova.
Since completing her MA in Refugee Studies and her groundbreaking research on austerity and welfare reforms, Indira has been invited to speak to various conferences and seminars around the world.

Mark is the chair of the Massachusetts Albanian American Society (MAAS/BESA), and  founding member of MAASBESA in 2006.  He is currently the Chief Financial Officer of the Mentor Group in Boston.   He has lived in Albania and worked there as an independent consultant, as well as held positions with the World Bank in Albania and Washington D.C.  Additionally, he has served as a Professor of Economics at Dartmouth College.

Mark is a past member of the Board of Trustees of the National Albanian-American Council, and is currently on the Board of Directors of Albanian-American Success Stories and the Treasurer for the Massachusetts Immigration and Refugee Advocacy Coalition. Mark holds a Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Wisconsin, and did his undergraduate degree in Economics and Mathematics at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst.

Jetmir Bakija is an international development professional who currently works on civil society development with National Democratic Institute (NDI) in Nepal. Earlier, he consulted for NDI in South-East Asia, the Middle-East and the North African region. He has also managed the Diaspora Engagement for Economic Development project at UNDP Kosovo and is a co-author of the Feasibility Study on Private Investment Fund for Diaspora Investors.  

He is a long-term activist in Kosovo and has worked for various think-tanks tackling issues of parliamentary openness, election reforms and local government development.

Jetmir graduated from Texas A&M University in 2005 with a Bachelor’s degree in Political Sciences and he holds a Master’s Degree on International Policy and Commerce from Valparaiso University (Indiana).