Albanian Professionals Network
Gazmend Kapllani
Ryve Loshaj
Gazmend Kapllani
Gazmend Kapllani is an Albanian polyglot author, scholar, and journalist. He lived in Athens, Greece for over 20 years (1991–2012), studying philosophy and psychology at The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and receiving his Ph.D. in Political Science and History from Panteion University - where he also taught classes in Albanian modern history and culture. From 2001-2011 Kapllani worked as a journalist and editorialist for Greece's largest-circulation newspaper, TA NEA.
He is the author of two collections of poetry in Albanian and four published novels (written in Albanian and Greek). His literary work centers on borders, totalitarianism, exile, identity, and how Balkan history has shaped private and public narratives and memories. His novels are taught in prestigious universities in Europe, the United States, and Canada and have been the subject of many scholarly essays.
Kapllani’s first best-selling novel, A Short Border Handbook (2006), has been translated and published into 10 languages so far. It has been adapted for the stage by Bornholm Theater in Denmark and The National Theater of the Deaf in Greece. It won the International Literary Prize of the City of Cassino in Italy in 2017. His three other novels, My Name is Europe, The Last Page, and Wrongland, have been published so far in French, Italian, Albanian, Greek, and English; The Last Page was short-listed for the French Cezam Prix Littéraire 2016 and awarded the literary prize of the Salon du Livre des Balkans (The Balkan Book Fair) in Paris, France.
Wrongland - his second novel translated into English by Egret Fiction - was adapted for the stage by the Greek theater director Pantelis Flatsousis and performed in Athens, Greece, in 2022.
Since 2012 Kapllani has lived in the United States, where he was a fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University and writer-in-residence at Brown University and Wellesley College. He taught creative writing and (Southeastern) European history at Emerson College in Boston, MA (2013–2018). Gazmend Kapllani and his wife Sonia live in Chicago, IL, where since 2019 he has directed the Hidai “Eddie” Bregu Endowment in Albanian Studies at DePaul University and the DePaul Albanian and Southeastern European Studies Program.
Besnik Dobreci
Born and raised in Prishtina, Mr. Besnik Dobreci settled in Canada in 1991 with the support of his family. He graduated from Simon Fraser University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology and Criminology and began his career with Correctional Services of Canada (CSC) in 1997. In 1999, following the NATO bombing campaign in the Former Yugoslavia, Mr. Dobreci joined an international team of prison experts under the United Nations Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) to help rebuild Kosovo’s prison system, serving as Head of Recruitment and Training for the Kosovo Correctional Service (KCS).
Upon returning to Canada, in 2001, he joined the Vancouver Police Department (VPD), where he has worked across various sections while holding a variety of leadership roles. Mr. Dobreci’s expertise is in investigating and dismantling organized crime groups and individuals who pose the highest risk to public safety. He has taught complex investigative techniques to countless police officers from across Canada and continues to be sought after for his expertise in the area of organized crime.
Currently, Mr. Dobreci is a Staff Sergeant responsible for the Vancouver Downtown Eastside, an area rife with violence and drug use and arguably the most challenging area to police in Canada. For his leadership and accomplishments throughout his 28-year law-enforcement career, Mr. Dobreci has received numerous commendations from the highest levels of UNMIK, VPD, CSC, RCMP, and other governmental and non-governmental agencies.
Ryve Loshaj
Dr. Ryve Loshaj graduated from the University of Prishtina, Faculty of Medicine, Kosovo, in 1995. She completed a year of postgraduate training in Pediatrics at Mother Teresa University of Tirana, Albania. During the Kosovo War (1998–1999), Dr. Loshaj's studies were interrupted as she volunteered in field hospitals and on the front lines, providing medical assistance to wounded soldiers and displaced populations.
Following the war, she joined her family in Canada as a refugee and immediately began giving back to her new community. Dr. Loshaj volunteered at Surrey Memorial Hospital and with the Immigrant Settlement and Support Agency in British Columbia. She soon secured a position as a counselor for Kosovar refugees and later became the Coordinator for Health Programs at BC Multicultural Health Services.
In 2005, Dr. Loshaj moved to Nova Scotia to pursue her dream of becoming a licensed family physician. She worked as an emergency physician and served as an Assistant Professor in the Family Medicine Department at Dalhousie University. As a first-generation Kosovo refugee, Dr. Loshaj broke significant barriers to obtain her Canadian medical credentials—a lengthy and challenging process that allowed her to continue her dedication to medicine and serve communities across Canada.
Kristaq Papa
Born and raised in Vlore, Mr. Kristaq Papa moved to Greece in 2000 to enrol at the National University of Athens. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Computer Science in 2004, a Master’s in Information Systems in 2007 and a Master’s in Business Innovation and Technology in 2010. After many years of work as a software engineer and project manager in Greece, he moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2017 to join Amazon as a Software Development Manager. Since then, he has been managing multiple teams of engineers with focus on improving the payments experience for millions of Amazon Web Service Customers.
Deniza Peja
Born and raised in Kosovo, Deniza Peja moved to Vancouver, Canada in 2014. She majored in finance and graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce Honours degree from University of British Columbia. She joined TD Securities in 2019 where she held a variety of roles and recently transitioned into the role of Vice President in the Investment Banking team. She provides corporate clients with advice and execution on a range of corporate finance transactions including mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings.
Yusuf Alam
Yusuf Alam is deeply committed to understanding and building momentum around public policy issues of environment, health and community resilience. Owing to early and influential experiences while working with the United Nations in Albania, and the governmental and intergovernmental sectors in Canada and South Asia, Yusuf has remained focused on illuminating pathways towards inclusive and comprehensive responses to our shared societal challenges. He cherishes and has learned to depend on the learning and friendships established through the professional networks and community spaces during that time.
At home in Canada, Yusuf has worked to build networks of changemakers that have been recognized for achieving measurable results in over 40 communities. He led influential bodies, such as the Toronto Food Policy Council, which addresses priorities across the food system - both rural and urban - and the spectrum of employment sectors it impacts. Yusuf continues this unifying work here in Vancouver at the University of British Columbia, where he was the founding Director of the UBC Student Development and Leadership Centre and presently leads university’s Centre for Community Engaged Learning. In his spare time, you’ll find him out on a mountain trail with his family, enjoying the views.
Ermira Progri
A proud daughter of two Albanian refugees, Ermira Progri, was born and raised in Burnaby, British Columbia. She is a student of the Prestigious Scholarship class at the University of British Columbia. She is studying Political Science with the plan of pursuing law to fulfill her lifelong dream of becoming a human rights lawyer.
In 2023, Ermira started her journey at the British Columbia Youth Parliament. She demonstrated her dedication to the organization by travelling BC to complete all four Regional Youth Parliaments while holding Cabinet positions for each.
Due to her consistent participation, she was invited by the Premier to join Cabinet for the position of Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of the Lower Mainland for the 95th BCYP Sessional Year. Ermira earned the award of the 2024 Parliamentarian of the Year and currently holds the positions of the Minister of Service for the 96th BC Youth Parliament and Chief Returning Officer for the 38th Vancouver Youth Parliament.