Press
NAR is a community-led count of Albanian Americans. A nonprofit organization. Founded 2026. If you need a verified source, a named contact, and citable numbers — not a press release pretending to be one — start here.
Live count
Registrants on the National Albanian Registry. Refreshes live in your browser. Quote with the time you're looking at it.
Direct line
Ervin Toro, Founder
press@albanianregistry.org
(718) 290-5161
Email replies within 24 hours, weekdays. For anything time-sensitive, mark "URGENT" in the subject — or call directly.
Fact sheet
~224,000
ACS 2024, self-reported Albanian ancestry
~1,000,000
Includes ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Çamëria, Arbëreshë, and 2nd–3rd-gen US-born
NY · MI · MA
~60% of Census-counted Albanian Americans
2026
501(c)(3) nonprofit, IRS confirmation pending
Law 113/2020
Extends citizenship by descent up to great-grandparent; no residency requirement
#CountMeAlbanian
Sources: U.S. Census ACS 2020 + 2024, Albanian American Civic League, Albanian Nationality Law (Law No. 113/2020). Underlying methodology: About NAR.
Story angles
A community-led count of an invisible population
224K Census-counted vs. ~1M estimated. NAR is an effort to close that gap from inside the community, not from the federal government.
Albanian citizenship by descent
Albania's 2020 Citizenship Law extends descent eligibility up to great-grandparent. Most American Albanians qualify and don't know it. A diaspora-wide legal-entitlement story that hasn't been reported.
The pizzeria-and-roofing economy
Albanians own ~1,500+ pizzerias in the Northeast and a substantial share of NYC-tristate construction. Until NAR, no verified count of Albanian-owned business in America existed.
Cross-confessional unity in a Balkan-American diaspora
~50% Muslim, ~25% Catholic, ~25% Orthodox — yet nationality precedes religion. NAR's endorsement push deliberately spans the three communities.
The trust gap
Albania ranks last among ~90 countries in generalized social trust — about 3% of Albanians say most people can be trusted, per the Integrated Values Surveys (2017–2022 wave, published 2024 via Our World in Data). NAR's whole premise — get Albanians to put their name on a list — runs directly against that grain. Why it might work anyway, and what makes a community-led count different from a government one.
Visibility, recognition, language access — the honest ladder
Federal language-access programs read from Census ancestry counts. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act covers translated hospital and school forms above ~5% or 1,000 LEP. Higher Education Act Title VI funds university Albanian programs based on documented community size. VRA §203 is the threshold model state and local laws use for ballot translation (the §203 list itself is closed to four language-minority groups; Albanian isn't on it). No community-built registry has ever moved a federal funding formula on its own — what they've moved is recognition (Arab American Institute's 40-year MENA campaign, Sikh Coalition's 2013 FBI hate-crime category, AAPI Data's sub-group disaggregation). NAR sits alongside the Census ACS — not as a replacement — so the recognition story has a credible second source. The most concrete news hook NAR has is the honest framing itself: visibility first, recognition over time, no automatic federal trigger.
Team
Eight Albanian Americans across five states. Volunteer board, unpaid. Founder & President, Treasurer, Secretary, Director of Outreach, plus product and engineering. Full bios at albanianregistry.org/about.
Founder & President · New York
From Fier; in NY since 1997. Senior international-mobility leader at Standard Chartered; President of the NY Chapter of the AANO; host of the Red Line Talk Show podcast.
Headshot ↓ · LinkedIn · Interviews EN + SQ · Full bio →
Director of Outreach · National
Born in NY; second-gen with family roots in Dibër. Physician Assistant and healthcare leader. Builds relationships across community organizations, parishes, and healthcare networks.
Headshot ↓ · Interviews EN + SQ · Full bio →
Treasurer · Michigan
From Erseke; in Michigan since his teens. 20+ years in financial services; licensed Financial Advisor since 2007. Senior wealth-management professional. Treasurer of NAR.
Headshot ↓ · Interviews EN + SQ · Full bio →
Secretary · Florida
From Lushnje; lives in Tampa. Bioinformatics scientist at Booz Allen Hamilton (VA Million Veteran Program); PhD in cell & molecular biology, USF. President of the AANO Tampa Chapter.
Headshot ↓ · Interviews EN + SQ · Full bio →
Outreach · Texas
From Pogradec; based in Texas. Runs GPS Foods, a wholesale foodservice distribution business across the South. Carries the count outside the Northeast.
Headshot ↓ · Interviews EN + SQ · Full bio →
Engineering · Michigan
Software engineer in Ann Arbor; CS at the University of Michigan. Founder of Lahuta.org and Lahuta.Pro. Founding engineer at NAR.
Headshot ↓ · Interviews EN + SQ · Full bio →
Product · New York
Second-gen Albanian American in New York; Information Science at Cornell. Product Manager building developer infrastructure in crypto at Gemini, Avalanche, and Arbitrum.
Headshot ↓ · LinkedIn · Interviews EN · Full bio →
Product & Web · Texas
From Tirana, based in the U.S. Built the NAR site, registry interface, and certificate flow. Founded Albania Visit.
Headshot ↓ · LinkedIn · Interviews EN + SQ · Full bio →
For higher-resolution headshots or to request an interview, email press@albanianregistry.org or book a 30-minute call.
Brand assets
For editorial use only. The NAR primary lockup is the Albanian double-headed eagle beside the Playfair Display wordmark, with a red UNITED STATES OF AMERICA subline keyed to the wordmark width. Use the full lockup wherever space permits. Use the isolated eagle mark (square crop) for avatars and small placements. Don't recolor or restyle the eagle. Don't substitute NAR's lockup with the Republic of Albania state eagle — they are distinct marks. Need a different format (vector EPS, social-tile sized, alternate ratios)? Email press@albanianregistry.org and we'll send it within the day.
Full brand book — construction, clearspace, palette with Pantone/RGB/CMYK, type specimens, do/don't: albanianregistry.org/brand-kit.
Primary lockup · NAR-owned
Primary lockup · light backgrounds
Full lockup (PNG · 2495×334, transparent)
Primary lockup · dark backgrounds
Full lockup, reverse (PNG · 2495×334)
Wordmark · light backgrounds
Wordmark (PNG · 2487×352, transparent)
Wordmark · dark backgrounds
Wordmark, reverse (PNG · 2487×350, transparent)
Eagle mark · for avatars + favicons
Eagle mark (PNG · 1024×995, transparent)Heritage iconography · public domain
The Albanian double-headed eagle is a national symbol of the Albanian people in the public domain. It predates and is not owned by NAR. We include it in supporting lockups as a heritage cue — never as our standalone institutional identity, and never in a way that suggests endorsement by the Republic of Albania.
Heritage eagle · light backgrounds
Eagle (red) (SVG)Public-domain Albanian national eagle, NAR red.
Color palette
NAR Red
#B22230
Ink
#1A1A1A
Cream
#FBE9E7
Gold rule
#D4A93C
Do
Don't
Voices from the community
United Albanian Festival, Staten Island — May 2026. Two unscripted clips from creators who had registered earlier, recorded at the booth urging others to do the same. They play muted as you scroll. Tap to hear them, tap share to send to anyone.
Burek Boys
Rob Twizz & Rrok
"Takes two minutes. Let's count all the Albanians."
Blerim Nik
Founder, Hajde Zemer · with Ervin Toro
"It's almost like a census, but an Albanian census."
Closed captions on both. Full transcripts on request: press@albanianregistry.org.
In the news
Where reporters and broadcasters have covered the registry. To request an interview in English or Albanian, email press@albanianregistry.org.
Red Line Talk Show · Long-form interview · Episode 89 · Founder's own podcast · · In English
Count Me Albanian | Why the Albanian-American Community Must Be Counted | Ervin Toro [Ep. 89]
Ten-minute conversation with founder Ervin Toro about Count Me Albanian — why the U.S. Census's 224,000 figure undercounts the community, what registrants are actually asked (name, email, ZIP — no SSN, no immigration status), what changes once Albanian Americans have a verified count of their own, and the community-board structure that keeps NAR governance independent of any one founder. Host introduces NAR as her husband's initiative; surfaced here for transparency.
"If we're not counted, we're invisible — in data, in funding, in representation."
— Ervin Toro, Founder · NAR
5 Pyetjet · Online news interview · Albania · · In Albanian
"Amerika formon Shqipërinë e Madhe" — Vjen lajmi i shumëpritur — Hapet regjistrimi nga Ervin Toro
""America is forming a Greater Albania" — The long-awaited news — Registration opens by Ervin Toro"
Host Dylber Balla speaks with founder Ervin Toro four days after launch — the early registrant count, the all-volunteer board, the planned business directory in phase two, what a credible community count builds toward over time (visibility, recognition campaigns, language-access advocacy), and why NAR chose a slow grassroots start over an immediate media blitz.
"My goal is to register one million Albanians within one year."
— Ervin Toro, Founder · NAR
Ora News · National TV · Albania · · In Albanian
Shqiptari i '97-ës në SHBA: Pas 30 vitesh emigrim, thirrje për kthim dhe bashkim të diasporës
"Albanian who came in '97 to the US: After 30 years of emigration, a call for return and diaspora unity"
Founder Ervin Toro on Albanian national TV — why the 224,000 U.S. Census count of Albanian Americans is a fraction of the real number, how the registry protects privacy, and what changes once the community has a verified count of its own.
"If we don't have a number, we don't have economic power."
— Ervin Toro, Founder · NAR
Press releases
NEW YORK, May 24, 2026 ·
Community-Led Count of Albanian Americans Reaches 1,000
National Albanian Registry adds 1,000 self-attested registrants in 29 days since launch
Read release →
NEW YORK, May 3, 2026 ·
National Albanian Registry Seals Founding 100 Membership Wall
Community-Led Count of Albanian Americans Reaches Initial Milestone
Read release →
Boilerplate
"The National Albanian Registry (NAR) is a nonprofit organization producing a community-led count of Albanian Americans. The U.S. Census records approximately 224,000 Albanian Americans; community estimates including ethnic Albanians from Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro, and Çamëria, plus second- and third-generation Americans, place the real number near 1 million. Founded in 2026, NAR is governed by a volunteer board with regional ambassadors across the United States. Registration is free, takes 2 minutes, and yields a digital Certificate of Albanian Identity."
Cleared for any media use. Cite as: National Albanian Registry, albanianregistry.org.
