PA Regional team
NAR in Pennsylvania.
1 ambassador organizing the count locally. 34 Albanians on the registry from Pennsylvania so far.
Director of Outreach
National outreach director.
Sets cross-state strategy and recruits state directors. Pennsylvania's ambassadors report up here until a state-specific director is seated.
Iliriana Sela
Director of Outreach · National
Pennsylvania ambassadors report to Iliriana.
Ambassadors in Pennsylvania
Regional ambassadors on the ground.
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Nilda Salavaçi
Regional Ambassador
I am well-positioned to lead initiatives across Pennsylvania due to my strong, long-standing ties to the Albanian Churches of Fan Noli and my active involvement with multiple Albanian nonprofit organizations, where I have consistently supported cultural preservation and community growth. As a deeply patriotic Albanian woman, I am committed to strengthening unity, opportunity, and representation for both younger and older generations. My leadership reflects a vision of empowerment that encourages the community to come together, engage, and thrive across all levels of civic and cultural life.
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Why Pennsylvania matters
A real count is where the work starts.
ACS 2024 estimate
10,430
Federal count
Community estimate
41,720–52,150
Methodology page
On NAR today
34
From Pennsylvania
Capture rate
0.33%
vs. ACS
As Pennsylvania'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.
Pennsylvania concentrations
Philadelphia metro + suburbs
Pennsylvania is the closest mid-Atlantic Albanian concentration outside the New York corridor. Philadelphia has a smaller but historic community; a documented community count strengthens the case for language-access conversations at the city and county level.
Pennsylvania ranks in the published ACS Albanian-ancestry counts at 10,430 (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 Pennsylvania
2 upcoming events.
Festivals, services, fundraisers, and community gatherings the Pennsylvania team is tracking.
- Mon, Jun 29 · 10:00 AM–12:30 PM Religious
Feast of Saints Peter and Paul
Patronal feast Divine Liturgy at Saints Peter and Paul Albanian Orthodox Church in Northeast Philadelphia.
Saints Peter and Paul Albanian Orthodox Church · Philadelphia
- Sat, Nov 28 · 10:00 AM–1:00 PM Cultural
Festa e Flamurit at St. John Chrysostom
Albanian Independence Day Divine Liturgy and parish gathering at the Albanian Orthodox parish in Center City Philadelphia.
St. John Chrysostom Albanian Orthodox Church · Philadelphia
Apply
Join the Pennsylvania 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 →