NY Regional team
NAR in New York.
4 ambassadors organizing the count locally. 554 Albanians on the registry from New York so far.
Director of Outreach
National outreach director.
Sets cross-state strategy and recruits state directors. New York's ambassadors report up here until a state-specific director is seated.
Iliriana Sela
Director of Outreach · National
New York ambassadors report to Iliriana.
Ambassadors in New York
Led by 1 state outreach lead.
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Iliriana Sela
Director of Outreach · Bronx, Westchester, Staten Island, Brooklyn
Iliriana Sela, MS, MBA — Director of Community Outreach for NAR. Second-gen Albanian American with family roots in Dibër; Physician Assistant and healthcare leader.
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Arber Jashari
Regional Ambassador · Staten Island
I’m very active with our community
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Klajdi Rroshi
Regional Ambassador · New York
In my first 90 days, I will do my best to bring together as much of the Albanian community as possible on this incredible platform. It is one of the best platforms for connecting people, discovering opportunities, and building strong communities. My goal is also to help attract and unite people from many different nations, creating a large, diverse, and supportive network.
Read more → Show less ↑ -
Myzafere Alija
Regional Ambassador · Staten island
Known in the local community
Why New York matters
A real count is where the work starts.
ACS 2024 estimate
56,959
Federal count
Community estimate
227,836–284,795
Methodology page
On NAR today
554
From New York
Capture rate
0.97%
vs. ACS
As New York'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.
New York concentrations
Bronx, Westchester, Staten Island, Brooklyn
New York hosts the largest Albanian-American population by ACS count. The §203 list itself is closed to four language-minority groups (Albanian isn't on it), but state and local laws modeled on the same threshold are where bilingual-ballot conversations actually happen — a credible community count strengthens those conversations in Bronx-County registrar-of-voters jurisdictions.
New York ranks in the published ACS Albanian-ancestry counts at 56,959 (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 New York
5 upcoming events.
Festivals, services, fundraisers, and community gatherings the New York team is tracking.
- Sun, Jun 7 · 12:00 PM–6:00 PM Festival
Albanian Heritage Festival at Kensico Dam
Free annual Albanian heritage celebration at Kensico Dam Plaza, Westchester County. Music, dance, food, crafts.
Kensico Dam Plaza · Valhalla
- Thu, Jun 11 · 7:00 PM–9:00 PM Cultural
Crossroads Concerts: Irish & Albanian Fusion
A live blend of Irish trad music with Albanian music at the New York Irish Center.
New York Irish Center · Long Island City
- Sat, Jun 20 · 10:00 AM Cultural
Albanian Roots Parade 2026
Annual NYC Albanian heritage parade with traditional music, dance, and community marching. 10:00 AM start.
Manhattan parade route · New York
- Sat, Jul 18 · 11:00 AM–5:00 PM Festival
Upstate New York Albanian Heritage Festival
First Albanian festival in Upstate NY. Cook Park, Colonie. Music, dance, food, art, mental-health awareness focus.
Cook Park · Colonie
- Sat, Oct 17 · 6:30 PM–10:30 PM Business
Albanian American Business Professionals Annual Gala — New York 2026
The Albanian American Business Professionals Association (AABPA) holds its annual awards gala in New York City — networking, leadership recognition, and keynote from Albanian-American executives.
TBD · New York
Apply
Join the New York 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 →