Our team

Director
JULIANA HOXHA

Ms. Hoxha is the founding Director of Partners Albania for Change and Development and serves in this position since 2001. She is responsible for the overall strategic direction and management of Partners Albania. In this position, Juliana has spearheaded significant and innovative initiatives that have positively impacted the non-for-profit sector and its support legal framework.

Ms. Hoxha brings 25 years of professional experience in institutional and capacity building and large-scale funding for the not-for-profit sector and local government. She has long experience in training and consulting in the Balkans, Middle East, and Eastern Partnership Countries. Her experience includes a long and successful working relation with ODA donors, international and local organizations in Albania.

With a strong academic background and research experience, Juliana has championed several evidence-based advocacy of enabling environment for non-for-profits, with a special focus on social entrepreneurship and philanthropy. Juliana sits in several boards and expert groups addressing these issues, at the country and European level.

Juliana has 10 years of experience in managing USAID cooperative agreements. Prior to starting Partners Albania, she served as Country Director of USAID/Democracy Network Program in Albania, advancing the advocacy capacities of the NGO sector through training, technical assistance, and funding in the sectors of democracy, environment, economic growth, and social safety.
Juliana has served as Deputy Director of Local Grants in the USAID/Albanian Social Sector Rehabilitation and Support Program, supporting the rehabilitation and service provision in the health and education sector.

She has been a member of The Congress of Local and Regional Authorities of Council of Europe and was elected as Vice –President of the Congress for the period 2014 – 2015.

Ms. Hoxha holds a BA and MA in History from Tirana University, and MSc in Business Management and ICT from Sheffield University. She is a Chevening and Harvard Kennedy School Fellow and speaks fluently English and Italian.


Manager of the National Resource Centre for Civil Society
ARJOLA AGOLLI

Ariola Agolli joined the Partners Albania team in 2005. She brings a twenty-year-long experience in the civil society sector in organizational management; programs and projects design, management, monitoring and evaluation; facilitation of participatory processes; policy papers developments and research conduction; and training and consulting expertise in Albania and other countries in the Western Balkans, Middle East, and Asia.

As part of the PA team, she has a reach experience in design and management of projects in the good governance, rule of law, and anti-corruption issues at the local and central level, and also multi-stakeholder process design and facilitation including civil society, government institutions at the central and local level, business, media, and academia.

Since January 2019, Ariola is managing the National Resource Centre for Civil Society, a Partners Albania initiative, in continuation of the dedicated work of PA for many years in supporting and strengthening the civil society sector in Albania.

Ms. Agolli holds a MA in Advanced Clinical Counseling and BA in Clinical Psychology from the University of Tirana, Faculty of Social Sciences.



Director of Programs

KLOTILDA KOSTA

Klotilda (Tavani) Kosta joined Partners Albania in 2005, and since 2010 she holds the position of Director of Programs responsible for the development of the Enabling Environment and Sustainable Development of Civil Society (monitoring and advocacy), and Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation programmatic areas.

Her key areas of expertise include civil society development, social entrepreneurship, gender issues, and participatory governance.
She has extensive knowledge and understanding of civil society developments and operations in the country and the Western Balkan region thanks to her exposure and work with different partner organizations in the country, region, and abroad.

She has been part of and coordinated several advocacy initiatives led by Partners Albania for the creation of an enabling legal and regulatory framework for the operation of CSOs in the country, and has supported local organizations to design and implement their advocacy initiatives at the local level.

Ms. Kosta is a permanent member of the research team of Partners Albania, being the author and co-author of several studies, monitoring reports, needs assessments, policy papers, and articles on various topics related to her areas of expertise. She is an expert in the design and delivery of capacity-building programs for civil society in different organizational development issues, and project management, due to her extended experience in the sector and work with numerous international donors and supporting organizations.

She is a Board member of the Balkan Civil Society Development Network (BCSDN). Ms. Kosta holds a Bachelor’s and MSc degree in Social Work.



Director of Programs

JONIDA ALITE

Mrs. Jonida Alite, holds the position of Director of Programs, responsible for the management of two programmatic areas of the Center: “Philanthropic Activity and Support Infrastructure”, and “Transparent and Accountable Participatory Governance”.

Jonida brings 19 years of working experience both in the nonprofit and banking sectors. Her process-driven approach to project management, course design, and facilitation of processes enables her to deliver qualitative programs that address community needs, business goals, and reinforce institutional standards.

Jonida manages the training portfolio, leading training interventions and services on demand coming from the business sector.

Due to her previous experience in the banking sector and cultivated relations with the private sector, Jonida leads PA events contributing to partnership building among the nonprofit and private sector, such as NPOs-Business speed dating, Giving Circle, the introduction of NPOs in crowdfunding platforms, development of business models for NPOs and facilitation of private sector support for community initiatives.

Mrs. Alite has been engaged in the design and delivery of hundreds of capacity-building programs for nonprofit organizations and private corporates. She facilitates topics such as: Organizational Development, Human Resources Management, Business Skills Development, Community Needs Assessment and Mobilization, Project Design and Management; Participatory Governance, etc. She has been successful in applying blended training methodologies, including face-to-face delivery, e-learning, classroom-based workshops, and interactive webinars.

Jonida holds a MA in Clinical Psychology from the University of Tirana, Faculty of Social Sciences.


Communication Manager
ELONA KAPEXHIU

Mrs. Kapexhiu has over 27 years of experience working with international and Albanian non-governmental organizations in Albania, with a strong emphasis on Public Relations and communication management, training, office and financial management etc.

Elona joined Partners Albania since the Center’s establishment in 2001. She holds the position of Communication Manager, responsible for developing communication tools and strategies such as publications, web marketing, social media, and media outreach. Elona has spoken at and facilitated various workshops with local and national audiences, on organizational communication systems, branding, marketing, and social media. She has great experience in the provision of tailored coaching and mentoring sessions for non-profit organizations on communication and PR.

Being a technology enthusiast, Elona has proposed and implemented several IT solutions for more efficient performance and a safer office operating environment. She has been an integral part of the organizations’ initiatives involving technology, such as the recently launched Dua Partner Invest web platform, the online NGO Directory, the Albaniancrowd web platform, the NGO Code of Standards web platform, Tirana Convention Center etc.

Part of the Partners Albania research team, Mrs. Kapexhiu has a long experience in survey design and data analysis, management of databases and information, contributing to the advancement of the Centre’s programs and interventions. She also facilitates administrative and logistic operations in the Center, ensuring premises, assets, and logistics are used effectively.
Mrs. Kapexhiu earned a BA and MA in History from Tirana University. She is fluent in Albanian (native), English, and Italian languages.


Finance Manager
JETMIRA HYSENAJ

Ms. Hysenaj joined Partners Albania in 2011, holding the position of Finance Manager. She brings over 15 years of working experience in the nonprofit and financial sector, with extensive experience in financial planning and analysis, accounting, taxation, and financial capacity-building programs for the nonprofit and profit sector.

Jetmira manages the institutional financial obligations to be in compliance with government authorities and donors, facilitates the process of Internal and External Audits, and ensures that financial and cost accounting policies, systems, and procedures are properly implemented.

She is very experienced in preparing and maintaining the organization’s financial reports and all other internal reports. As part of her work, she conducts and documents financial analysis of programs and assists the organization with financial functions, such as assessing, auditing, planning, budgeting, taxes, consolidation, cost control, and project control. Jetmira also supervises the financial-related component of the sub granting schemes and beneficiaries of Partners Albania. She has extensive experience in the provision of training and consultancies on financial management issues for CSOs and various sectors targeted by the organization’s programs.

Ms. Hysenaj holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Finance from Tirana University and is a certified accountant since 2012.


Program Manager
KOSTANDINA KERUTI

Mrs. Kostandina Këruti holds the position of Program Manager, responsible for the management of Philanthropic Activity and Support Infrastructure program, and research work related to enabling the environment for civil society development.

Kostandina brings 15 years of working experience in the nonprofit and academic sectors. Her previous experiences relate to research on foreign and security issues; project design and evaluation in youth and environmental fields.

Kostandina joined Partners Albania in 2011. She has been involved in NPO capacity-building programs; public awareness activities and events related to the promotion of philanthropy, and social enterprises. In charge of the management of sub-granting schemes for NPOs related to re-use of confiscated assets from organized crime for social purpose, and seed funding support for social enterprises.

Researching the development of civil society organizations has been a personal and professional interest of her. As part of the research team, she is engaged in different initiatives, particularly in the preparation of the Monitoring Matrix on Enabling Environment for Civil Society Development, an annual comprehensive report since 2013.

As part of the Philanthropic program, she is working towards the promotion and development of the philanthropic activity, through research and creation of support infrastructure, with a focus to support the development of community foundations and crowdfunding activities in Albania.

Kostandina Këruti holds a Master for Business Administration (MBA) from the Canadian Institute of Technology and is an alumnus of the International Fellow Program, Graduate Center, City University New York (CUNY).


Project Manager
XHOANA ZEQO

Ms. Zeqo holds the position of Project Manager. She joined Partners Albania in May 2018, bringing over 14 years of working experience in the civil society sector, local government, and academia. As part of her previous positions in municipality and university, she was engaged in drafting and implementation of local fiscal policies, design, and implementation of student management programs and extracurricular activities, as well as coordination management of relations with various stakeholders.

Part of the Partners Albania team, Ms. Zeqo has managed mainly projects focused on transparent and good governance at the local level, and citizens’ inclusion in participatory processes. In the last years, she is mostly engaged in programs related to CSOs development, institutional transparency and accountability. Ms. Zeqo coordinates the National Resource Centre for Civil Society services with regards to strengthening of CSOs’ capacities to be more effective, transparent, accountable, and independent actors contributing to democracy and the integration process of Albania. She contributes also to the research and monitoring efforts of the organization in line with its mission.


Finance Officer
FJORALBA BALLA

Fjoralba joined Partners Albania in November 2021. She has over 20 years of experience in Finance and Project Management. Mrs. Balla has worked widely with international companies in projects funded by USAID, World Bank, international organizations such as the International Labour Organization; both international and national businesses, including Canada-based CanPar Transport.
Among her key skills and qualifications are financial planning and management; budgeting and costing; grant management; monitoring and evaluation; human resource management; procurement, management of projects and programs, training on budget implementation and financial reporting, etc.

Fjoralba brings to Partners Albania her hands-on experience in evaluating applications and grants, by providing technical budget-related insights on grants to ensure adherence to proposed methodology and activity plan, detailed and overall financial reporting with a key focus on compliance with donor regulations and policies, matching expected activity results with grant spending and budget implementation, including management of required deliverables within established timeframes. She has also experience in provision of trainings with focus on financial reporting and grants management.

Fjoralba holds a MA in Physics from the Faculty of Natural Sciences, (University of Tirana); and a Project Management Applications Certificate from the University of Toronto, (Mississauga, Canada).


 

Project Manager
ALIS MUSTAFA

Ms. Mustafa joined Partners Albania in 2022 as a Project Manager in the Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation programmatic area. She is responsible for the management and coordination of projects in the field of social entrepreneurship, youth work and empowerment, start-up development, innovation and support, and capacity building, contributing to the further development and expansion of this programmatic area. Alis manages the Dua Partner Invest Platform, being responsible for the management of its main functions and services, towards the development of the start-up ecosystem through the facilitation of interaction between the main stakeholders being part of it.

Ms. Mustafa holds a Master of Science in Business Administration in the Management profile and a bachelor’s degree in Finance and Accounting from the Faculty of Economy at the University of Tirana. She has over seven years of experience working in business consultancy organizations operating in the fields of project management and development, business consultancy, analysis, research, and studies, and is primarily responsible for managing and coordinating the whole process of developing, implementing, and following up all the project’s phases, including building partnership and liaison with partners and stakeholders. She is also part of the academic staff of the Faculty of Economy, as Assistant Lecturer, in the Department of Management.


 

Project Manager
ERA SHERIFAJ

Ms. Sherifaj recently joined Partners Albania in the position of Entrepreneurship and Social Innovation Program Assistant, responsible for the interaction and functionality within Dua Partner Invest platform as well as researcher of new investors, financing strategies, and new start-ups.

Era holds a BA in Industrial Engineering from Kocaeli University and an MA in Engineering and Management from Polytechnic of Turin. She has developed and mastered knowledge in strategic management, innovation, and product development, business plans, project management, product design, and market research.

Era has internship experience as quality manager of the production process, and manager of strategic decisions in public services. She has worked as a young project manager and specialist in Saranda municipality in Albania. She worked closely with the incubator of Polytechnic of Turin for her thesis work: Start-up Perspective in Attracting Investors, Polito I3P case study. During this period, she has collaborated with start-ups in their business plan construction and in the process of finding and understanding the strategies start-ups follow to attract money and find the right investors.

 


Project Assistant
Enxhi Rexhepi

Enxhi joined the team of Partners Albania in May 2022. She holds a Master’s degree in Social Services Administration and a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Tirana. Enxhi conducts desk research and data entry for many programs of the Center. As part of the Philanthropic Activity and Support Infrastructure program, she is engaged in conducting the daily monitoring of philanthropic activity in Albania and preparing monthly reports in cooperation with other team members, as well as the philanthropy magazine.


Communication Specialist
Regana Hysenbelli

Regana joined the team of Partners Albania in 2023 and holds the position of Communication Specialist. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Finance from Tirana University and a Master’s Degree in Marketing and Management. Regana pursued a career in communication and marketing, where she had the opportunity to work in a variety of industries and projects thanks to her enthusiasm for communication, advertising, and digital marketing.
Part of Partners Albania’s communication team, Regana is involved in developing communication tools, implementing integrated marketing and communication strategies, digital marketing, online presence, designing various visuals, coordinating outgoing communication, and contributing to project reporting on the communication aspect, among other duties.  As a data-driven communication and marketing enthusiast, Regana is always up to date on the latest digital platforms that can make an important contribution to broadening our reach to a wider audience.



Project Coordinator

Migena Muslli

Ms. Muslli joined Partners Albania in 2023 in the role of Project Coordinator for the Innovation Challenge Fund, where she is responsible for the key aspects of project implementation, ensuring best coordination of activities, resources, and information for project effectiveness. Her responsibilities extend to contributing to the design and execution of outreach activities, needs assessment, and capacity-building initiatives tailored to innovative startups and SMEs.

Holding a Master of Science in Finance & Banking, Ms. Muslli earned recognition for the best diploma title awarded by the Bank of Albania. Complementing her academic achievements, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the Faculty of Economy at the University of Tirana. She has over ten years of experience working in public sector as an Advisor for startups and Head of Innovation and Projects division, in private sector as a Senior Management Consultant supporting startups and SMEs towards their scale up path, as well as managing and being a team member in various projects with focus on private sector such as Enterprise Europe Network where she was the National Coordinator of Albania for six years, IPA CBC project on women entrepreneurship, Interreg project on agribusiness, etc.

Throughout her professional journey, Ms. Muslli has gained valuable expertise and conducted numerous international qualifications in Japan, Austria, Italy, Turkey, Slovenia, etc. in the field of business management, project management, investment development and promotion, contributing significantly to the growth and innovation landscape of the business sector in Albania.



Grants Manager

Jonida Dyrmishi

Mrs. Jonida Dyrmishi joined Partners Albania in 2023, in the position of Grant Manager, responsible for the management of the grant scheme of the EU4Innovation Challenge Fund project.

Jonida has an extensive experience in managing EU grants for civil society organizations, governmental institutions, EU Member States public bodies, but not only. She has gained over 15 years of professional experience in the indirect management of IPA funds.

She has worked in various positions such as Procurement Specialist for IPA Funds, Head of Sector for Contracting and Implementation of IPA Projects, and Director for Contracting and Monitoring the Implementation of IPA Projects, working for the CFCU in the Ministry of Finance and Economy of Albania.

Jonida holds a Master of Science degree in Law at the University of Tirana.



Project Finance Manager

Klorinda Prifti

Ms. Prifti joined Partners Albania in October 2023. She holds the position of EU4Innovation Challenge Fund Project Finance Manager, responsible for the project financial reporting and related coordination, financial management, and technical assistance to grantees. She is also responsible for general financial, budgetary, and financial planning support to the organization.

Klorinda brings over 20 years of expertise in both profit and non-profit sectors, occupying key management positions with some of the largest companies in Russia, Canada and Albania. Lately she served as the Finance Manager of LevizAlbania project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

She has extensive experience across accounting, controllership, compliance and internal controls, employment, contracting, purchasing, and materials management. Her financial specialties include reporting, technical accounting, internal controls, FP&A, and strategic planning and execution.

Klorinda Prifti holds a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Economics from the world-renowned Saint Petersburg State Polytechnic University, where she finished both degrees with excellent results.



Office Assistant
Erba Qendro

Erba joined our team in 2023 as an Office Assistant, taking on a range of clerical and office administration responsibilities. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and English from Tirana University and is presently pursuing a Master’s degree in Communication and Tourist Guidance.