Overview

Atifete Jahjaga served as the fourth, and the first woman President of the Republic of Kosovo, elected by the Parliament of Kosovo for a five-year mandate (April 2011-2016). Jahjaga is Kosovo’s first non-partisan candidate, the first female head of state in the modern Balkans and the youngest female world leader to be elected to the highest office.
During her presidency, Jahjaga worked diligently to bring women to the forefront of Kosovo’s political, economic, and social life as a means of ensuring a long-lasting democracy. In this context, in 2012, she hosted the International Women’s Summit "Partnership for Change—Empowering Women," which was attended by 200 leaders from all over the world. This led to the creation of the ‘Prishtina Principles’ which affirm the rights of women to political participation and representation, economic resources, and access to security and justice and calls for actions to make these principles a reality.
President Jahjaga led institutional efforts to rehabilitate and reintegrate survivors of sexual violence from the war with Serbia. In March 2014, she established the National Council for Survivors of Sexual Violence During the War in Kosovo, a body consisting representatives of key ministries, civil society, and international partners, to provide legal remedies to survivors of war-time sexual violence.
Prior to her election as the President of Kosovo, Jahjaga had been the Deputy General Director of the Police of Kosovo from February 2009. She had served as a police officer since the establishment of the Kosovo Police in early 2000, and raised to the rank of General Lt. Colonel within Kosovo Police, progressing to responsibilities at a regional level and then to General Headquarters. She completed her studies at the Faculty of Law of the University of Prishtina, in 2000. In 2006-2007, she attended a postgraduate certification program in Police Management and Penal Law at the University of Leicester in the United Kingdom and a Postgraduate Certification in Crime Science at the University of Virginia in the United States in 2007.
Jahjaga is a member of the Council of Women World Leaders since 2012 and is recipient of numerous honors and awards including the Doctor Honoris Causa from the University of Durham (2013), the Leadership in Public Service Award from the Clinton Global Initiative (2014), and the honorary degree of Doctor of Law from the University of Leicester (2015).

Michael Hora is a University of Illinois Engineering graduate and holds an MBA from Chicago's Loyola University. Mr. Hora was a Senior Global Managing Partner of the international Management Consulting firm, A. T. Kearney and he is active on non-profit boards having served/serving on more than 15 over his career. Mr. Hora serves on the Executive Committee of the Board of the American Councils for International Education and he is the U.S. Co-Chair of the Kosovo American Education Fund. Mr. Hora and his wife are blessed with 5 children. He enjoys reading, running and hunting.

Jeta Zagragja is a technology entrepreneur, a startup mentor, and an education advocate. Jeta brings almost a decade of practical experience in successful startups, financial industry, and non-profit sector in Kosovo and USA. Currently, she’s a co-owner and Chief Operating Officer at UCX Kosovo, a global, innovative, and lean technology company. She’s formerly held positions as the former Chief Business Development Officer at Cacttus JSC and Chief Business Development Officer at Gjirafa.com.
With her passion for innovation and demonstrated management skills, Jeta is a natural leader who pushes for workplace development, operational excellency, and business growth. She sets stretch goals and organizes resources to achieve the commercial, operational, and strategic initiatives. She’s a successful networker and relationship manager who leverages contacts to support business and philanthropic initiative and produces strategic execution plans that align with engagement or client objectives. Understanding that great achievements require team effort, she loves to mentor and empower teams, companies, and individuals develop.
Jeta’s education background includes a B.A. in Applied Sciences from the Rochester Institute of Technology, NY, USA and an M.B.A. in Strategic Management from Roosevelt University in Chicago,IL,USA.
Jeta is the co-chair of the Board of the Kosovo American Education Fund, a mentor at the Innovation Center of Kosovo, and a mentor at Krypolabs in Abu Dhabi.

Lisa Choate was appointed President and CEO of American Councils in February 2024. Prior to her appointment, Ms. Choate served as Executive Vice President of American Councils, a leadership role she has held since 2012. With 35 years’ experience managing and guiding the organization, Ms. Choate’s executive management and leadership responsibilities date back to 1987 when she opened the organization’s first office in Washington, DC.

Throughout her career, Ms. Choate has been a driving force in leading American Councils successful efforts with funders to develop and expand a number of flagship initiatives including the U.S. Department of State’s Future Leaders Exchange (FLEX) and Kennedy-Lugar Youth Exchange and Study (YES) programs for secondary school students; the Congressional Office for International Leadership’s Open World program and other professional programs; as well as programs for Americans to study and teach critical languages such as the National Security Language Initiative for Youth (NSLI-Y) and Startalk programs. Under her direction, these programs, many of which started as pilot programs, have grown to become well-established, foundational programs that promote mutual understanding and support opportunities for promising individuals from diverse communities around the globe. Ms. Choate has also spearheaded efforts across the organization to develop and implement strategies, plans, and negotiations leading to the administration and evaluation of a wide range of international exchange programs.

Ms. Choate is an American Councils alumna, having studied for an academic year at the Pushkin Institute in Moscow. She holds a Master’s degree in Education and Second Language Acquisition from Boston University and an A.B. from Bryn Mawr College in Russian Language and Literature.

Dan E. Davidson, Ph.D., is the co-founder and president emeritus of American Councils for International Education and emeritus professor of Russian and second language acquisition, Myra T. Cooley Lectureship, at Bryn Mawr College. He has been the director of American Councils Research Center (ARC) since 2017.
He is the author/editor of 24 books and 65 scholarly articles in the fields of language, culture, and educational development, including a major twenty-year longitudinal analysis of adult second language acquisition during study abroad.
Dr. Davidson was named in 2015 to the Commission on Languages, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is an elected foreign member of the Russian Academy of Education, the Ukrainian Academy of Pedagogical Sciences, vice president of the International Association of Teachers of Russian (MAPRIAL), and past chair of the College Board World Languages Advisory Committee, the Joint National Committee for Languages, and the Alliance for International Education Exchange.
Dr. Davidson completed his Ph.D. in Slavic languages at Harvard University.

Erëza is a graduate of Bentley University (Class of 2021) with an MS degree in Accounting Analytics and a graduate certificate in Business Analytics. Leveraging her expertise in data handling and her understanding of the global business language, she has been able to transition seamlessly into product development, creating innovative solutions that address market needs effectively. Currently, Erëza is a Product Manager at Kin+Carta, which was recently acquired by Valtech, a global business transformation agency delivering innovation with a purpose. She collaborates with industry giants from various fields. Before joining Kin+Carta, Erëza held several significant roles at ProCredit Bank Kosova, she managed projects related to Digital Channels and led the redesign of the Mobile app, introducing features that were firsts for the Kosovo market. At Gjirafa, she led GjirafaTravel, an online ticket-selling platform. It was during this time that she transitioned to Product Management, overseeing all aspects of the platform from negotiating deals to managing customer support inquiries and staff. At TEB Kosovo, a subsidiary of BNP Paribas, she was the Program Development Supervisor, designing and implementing targeted programs to provide marginalized businesses with easier access to finance and non-financial services.

Her dedication to community development was fostered through her work with various nonprofit organizations in Prishtina, including USAID, UNICEF, and IPKO Foundation. This experience instilled in her a strong sense of devotion to youth development. Erëza currently serves as the KAEF Alumni Association President, and was awarded the Emerging Leader award by the Kosovo United States Alumni Association.

Gazmend Gjonbalaj serves as VP of Development Systems at WeWork. He managed Research and Development for Bloomberg L.P., where he served as the Director of Product Applications for Bloomberg Law. Leading by example on multimillion-dollar projects, he managed to motivate his staff and excel at the toughest tasks his division faces. Gjonbalaj’s subordinates refer to him as “a friend,” “an excellent manager,” and “a rare engineer with a great business mind.” His successful career in the corporate world and financial success has enabled him to give back to the Albanian American community. Today, he works at one of the best companies in the world, and he lives on the Upper East Side of New York City, one of its most prestigious and influential neighborhoods. However, just a decade ago, things were very different.

Abol Jalilvand is a seasoned academic leader with over 35 years of global administrative experience, having served as dean of business and senior scholar at major public and private universities with strong traditions of liberal arts education in both the U.S. (Loyola University Chicago) and Canada (Concordia and Dalhousie Universities). He is the founding director of the Quinlan Series on the Future of Business Education, Loyola University Chicago, providing a national forum dedicated to a dialogue among bestselling authors and thought leaders on the challenges and opportunities facing business schools and business education in the 21st century. His scholarly work on corporate debt policy, organizational risk management, behavioral economics, sovereign debt, restructuring, and governance continues to be widely published and has been supported by major external research grants.
In 2009, in recognition of his leadership in ranking Loyola’s business ethics program 1st in the nation, Ethisphere Institute, New York, selected him as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Business Ethics. Dr. Jalilvand received his Ph.D. in Finance from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, MBA from Oklahoma State University, and Bachelor of Arts from the Iranian Institute of Banking. Formerly, he held the Herbert S. Lamb Chair in Business Education at Dalhousie University. He currently holds currently the Ralph Marotta Chair in Free Enterprise at Quinlan School of Business, Loyola University Chicago.

Drena Kusari is currently serving as the first-ever General Manager of Bumble. In this role, she manages the app's global business across its dating, friendship, and business features. Prior to joining Bumble, Drena was the Head of Lyft's Service Network, where she revolutionized transportation through technology, overseeing product roadmap, growth strategy, marketing, and operations. With over 10 years of experience in the tech-enabled field, Drena has worked for Infusionsoft, Goldman Sachs, and McKinsey & Company, where she advised Fortune 500 companies.

Drena is also an influential leader and mentor, serving as a judge for the Venture Madness pitch competition and volunteering on multiple boards. She supports the advancement of children and women and is involved with Junior Achievement, Fresh Start, and Arizona Women's Education and Employment (AWEE) organizations. Drena also mentors young girls interested in STEM and technology careers and is a mentor and advisor at GjirafaLabs, one of the leading technology incubators in the Balkans.

Drena's outstanding leadership has been recognized through numerous awards, including the Young Professional ATHENA, Phoenix Business Journal's 40 Under 40, Mentor of the Year, and Outstanding Woman in Business. She graduated with dual honors and a double major in Economics and Diplomacy from Occidental College and earned an MBA from Harvard Business School in Boston.

Valdrin Lluka is a politician and executive with more than 15 years of experience in public and private sector development, management, management consulting and leadership development. Lluka was a scholar of the Kosovo American Education Fund (KAEF) and holds an MBA degree from the University of Minnesota, Carlson School of Management (2007 – 2009) and BA degree in Economics and Information Systems from the American University in Bulgaria (2002 – 2005).
Valdrin Lluka served as the Minister of Economic Development in the Government of the Republic of Kosovo (2017 – 2020), responsible for the development of the energy, mining and ICT sectors and the supervision of all public enterprises in Kosovo.
Before he was nominated as a Minister, Lluka led a chain of production facilities for fresh and processed food products, employing more than 200 employees and exporting 100% of its production (2015 – 2017). Earlier on, he worked for Deloitte, Carlson Consulting Enterprise and mobile virtual network operator Z mobile (2005 – 2010).
During his professional experience in the public sector, Lluka demonstrated the ability to develop, implement, and oversee innovative promotional activities to attract foreign investment into Kosovo and promote local products abroad through the Kosovo Investment and Enterprise Support Agency, a Government Agency under the Ministry of Trade and Industry where he served for 4 years as the General Director (2011 -2014). Lluka led the National Council of Economic Zones as appointed by the Cabinet of the Government of Kosovo and served on several economic development boards in and outside of Kosovo.
Lluka volunteered as the co-chair of the Kosovo American Education Fund (KAEF) Committee (2014 – 2017) and is currently serving as a member of the KAEF Committee.
Lluka is married and has two children.

Dan is an experienced global executive and leader working for a global fortune 50 company with sales and operations in almost every country in the world. Most recently Dan ran the Caterpillar global business for medium speed and gas engines out of Germany, with operations and sales in Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Middle East. He had responsibility for the global business, from operations, including purchasing and manufacturing strategy, sales, marketing and aftermarket. Dan had sales and support teams in multiple countries, as well as customers from around the world. With his knowledge of global business needs and trends, Dan will be a great asset to the board in helping forge a strategy giving insights into corporate global resource challenges and opportunities.

Dan holds a master’s degree in business administration (MBA) from Bradley University and a bachelor’s degree in computer science with minors in business and mathematics from Western Illinois University. He completed Duke Executive Leadership Program, Oxford University Strategic Scenario Planning, and Northwestern University eBusiness Strategies.

Mark Taplin is a retired senior Foreign Service officer and American Councils board member.
His last assignment at the U.S. State Department was as Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary at the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), American Councils’ largest funder. In that capacity, he also served as acting Assistant Secretary until August 2017.
Mark joined the Foreign Service in 1980 and held a variety of domestic and overseas assignments, including as Deputy Chief of Mission and Charge d’Affaires at the U.S. embassies in Paris and Bucharest. Prior to that, he served in public diplomacy positions in Ukraine, Russia, Brazil, Haiti and Mauritius. In Washington, he was the State Department’s Director for Ukraine, Moldova and Belarus from 2002-04. From 2008-10, he taught and conducted research at the George Washington University as a Public Diplomacy Fellow.
Mark holds a bachelor’s degree in humanities and international affairs from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and a master’s degree in strategic studies from the University College of Wales (Aberystwyth). He is the author of Open Lands: Travels Through Russia’s Once Forbidden Places (Steerforth Press, 1997).

A graduate of Harvard Kennedy School, Zana Zeqiri Rudi served as the first Ambassador of Kosovo to Panama City, Panama. During her six years in Panama, she went on to become Kosovo’s Ambassador to Costa Rica, Honduras, El Salvador, Belize, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Guyana.

Her education and experiences having once served as advisor to the Foreign Minister of Kosovo, contributing to the formation of Kosovo’s foreign policy goals and institutional efforts to strengthen Kosovo’s international image and standing in the world and her two earlier engagements with the UNHCR in New York and the World Bank in Pristina, Kosovo, equipped her to carry out such an important role for Kosovo.

A mother, a daughter, a wife, and a devoted senior career foreign service officer, Zana has defended the interests of Kosovo abroad with diligence and passion for public service. For her meritorious engagement and contribution to the society Ambassador Rudi was recognized by the University of Graceland and received an Honorary Doctorate by Graceland University in April 2017.