FL Regional team
NAR in Florida.
1 ambassador organizing the count locally. 114 Albanians on the registry from Florida so far.
Director of Outreach
National outreach director.
Sets cross-state strategy and recruits state directors. Florida's ambassadors report up here until a state-specific director is seated.
Iliriana Sela
Director of Outreach · National
Florida ambassadors report to Iliriana.
Ambassadors in Florida
Regional ambassadors on the ground.
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Mikel Murati
Regional Ambassador · Clearwater/Tampa/St petersburg
For years, I’ve been actively involved in the Albanian community through organizing events, building connections, and bringing people together across the Tampa Bay area. I’m excited to help grow this project and make it as impactful as possible for Albanians throughout the United States. • Secretary of AANO Tampa Bay Chapter • Founder of Albanian American Community of Tampa Bay From soccer tournaments and networking events to Albanian parties, car parades, Cars & Coffee gatherings, and many other community events, my goal has always been to create unity, culture, and opportunities for our community. Let’s continue building something bigger together.
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Why Florida matters
A real count is where the work starts.
ACS 2024 estimate
17,470
Federal count
Community estimate
69,880–87,350
Methodology page
On NAR today
114
From Florida
Capture rate
0.65%
vs. ACS
As Florida's Albanian community becomes visible in the data systems institutions actually use, the recognition story gets stronger — for bilingual-ballot petitions in jurisdictions with significant limited-English Albanian populations, for hospital interpreter staffing, for school home-language reporting, and for university heritage programs. None of these unlock automatically from a count; they come from sustained organizing on top of one. The Census ACS stays the official federal source; NAR builds the parallel community count alongside it.
Florida concentrations
Tampa Bay, Jacksonville, South Florida
Florida is the fastest-growing Albanian destination outside the Northeast. Tampa-Hillsborough and Jacksonville-Duval are the working concentrations.
Florida ranks in the published ACS Albanian-ancestry counts at 17,470 (2024). Nationwide the Census counts 224,000 Albanian Americans while community estimates put us close to a million — and the same gap shows up here. NAR is the community-led parallel count that sits alongside the ACS, one self-attestation at a time.
What's happening in Florida
3 upcoming events.
Festivals, services, fundraisers, and community gatherings the Florida team is tracking.
- Sun, Jul 19 · 12:00 PM–5:00 PM Family
AAO-SWFL Annual Summer Family Picnic
The Albanian American Organization of Southwest Florida hosts its annual summer community picnic — families, food, Albanian music, and games at Veterans Memorial Regional Park in Naples.
Veterans Memorial Regional Park · Naples
- Fri, Aug 7 9:00 AM – Aug 9, 6:00 PM Business
AANO 78th Annual Convention
78th annual convention of the Albanian American National Organization in St. Petersburg, Florida.
St. Petersburg conference venue (TBA) · St. Petersburg
- Sat, Nov 28 · 6:00 PM–11:00 PM Cultural
Festa e Flamurit / Albanian Independence Day Celebration
AAO-SWFL's annual Albanian Independence Day banquet in Southwest Florida — dinner, music, dancing, and VIP program marking November 28.
Albanian American Organization of Southwest Florida · Naples
Apply
Join the Florida team.
Each state seats up to three Regional Ambassadors plus one state outreach lead. Volunteer role. Listed publicly. Reimbursed expenses for one local event a year.
Or browse all states with open spots →