SPEAKERS
Dr. Valbona Karakaçi
Dr. Valbona Karakaçi is a seasoned project manager and strategic governance advisor with over 20 years of experience in international development cooperation, particularly in the Western Balkans. She has collaborated extensively with Swiss, Swedish, Dutch, and German development partners—including beneficiaries such as NGOs, public institutions, private sector entities, and research organizations. Her expertise spans public service delivery, public administration, democratic local governance, gender and social inclusion, and evidence-based policy development. She has led the design and implementation of decentralization, territorial and service delivery reforms, and public administration modernization initiatives.
Albi Alla
Albi Alla provides Alber & Geiger’s portfolio of European and international clients with analysis and strategic insight into a broad range of European issues, utilizing his expertise of the EU institutions, EU law and the various policy-making and decision-making processes. Albi has gained experience in various sectors including foreign sovereign representation, human rights advocacy and telecommunications.
Earlier in his career, Albi worked at a leading international consultancy focusing on improving government accountability and justice systems. He was involved in a wide range of projects in the Balkans, South-East Asia and Africa. Albi was also Director of EU Integration at the Albanian Government, where he oversaw a team of five experts about fulfilling the enlargement requirements. Before joining Alber & Geiger, Albi also worked at the Council of Europe, DG Democracy and Political Affairs where he dealt with the Caucasus and Central Asia countries. Prior, he was a staffer in the House of Commons.
Albi has a bachelor’s from the University of Bath. He also holds master’s degrees in Politics and Government in the EU from the London School of Economics, and in European Union Law from King’s College London.
Albert Hani
Albert Hani was appointed Director of the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative (RAI) Secretariat at the 45th RAI Steering Group Meeting. He brings over two decades of experience in regional cooperation, good governance, and institutional reform, with a strong foundation in anti-corruption, peacebuilding, and rule of law.
Before joining RAI, Albert served as the Secretary General of the Regional Youth Cooperation Office (RYCO), where he led high-level initiatives to strengthen reconciliation and cooperation in the Western Balkans. Prior to that, he headed RYCO’s Local Branch Office in Skopje, North Macedonia, while also lecturing on intercultural communication at the State University of Tetovo.
Albert Hani has been engaged in peacebuilding efforts with international organizations since 1998 and has been active in human rights and civil society work since 1994. His career spans mediation, policy reform, youth empowerment, and stakeholder engagement at both grassroots and governmental levels. He has also actively contributed to the Berlin Process, advocating for enhanced transparency, regional collaboration, and the inclusion of RAI in key regional forums.
Elona Hoxhaj
Elona Hoxhaj has served as the Director General of the General Directorate for the Right to Information at the Office of the Commissioner since August 2021. She joined the Office of the Commissioner in March 2020. Elona graduated in 2007 with a law degree from the Faculty of Law at the University of Tirana and later completed a Master of Science in “Comparative and European Constitutional Law” at the same institution.
Throughout her professional career, she has held several significant positions in both the public administration and private sectors. These include roles such as: Director of the Directorate for the Right to Information at the Office of the Commissioner; Director General of the General Directorate for Regulation and Compliance for Public Order and Security at the Ministry of Interior; Director of the Directorate for Programming, Standardization, and Harmonization of the Regulatory Framework at the Ministry of Interior; General Director at the Public Procurement Agency; Director of the Monitoring Directorate at the Public Procurement Agency; and lawyer at the law firm “Boga & Associates,” among others.
In addition to her professional work, Elona Hoxhaj has been involved in academia since 2017, teaching courses such as “Constitutional Law,” “Administrative Law,” and “Copyright.” She has been a member of the Chamber of Advocates since 2010.
Silvana Ramadani
Silvana Ramadani is a legal auditor with 12 years of professional experience in the public sector, specializing in external public auditing. Currently, she serves as the Anti-Corruption Advisor to the Minister of State for Public Administration and Anti-Corruption, where her work contributes to advancing policies and fulfilling Albania’s anti-corruption agenda.
Silvana previously served for seven years as a Senior Auditor at the High State Audit (KLSH), where she provided expertise in improving public financial management and enhancing the effectiveness of public administration institutions.
In addition to her public sector roles, Silvana Ramadani has been a part-time lecturer at the Faculty of Law at “Luarasi” University, teaching “Obligations and Contracts Law” during the academic years of 2018-2022. She holds a law degree, a Master’s in Civil and Commercial Law, and earned her qualification as a lawyer in 2015.
Dr. Nieves Zúñiga
Dr. Nieves Zúñiga received her PhD in Political Science from the University of Essex in the UK. After her PhD she was Research Fellow at the School of Politics and International Relations at the University of Nottingham, working on the EU’s ANTICORRP project. At Nottingham she analysed the anti-corruption policies in Bolivia and Rwanda, and worked on the idea of integrity management to counter corruption. Nieves has extensive experience as a researcher and public speaker on socio-political issues developed in the UK and in Spain, and she is specialised in qualitative research methods with fieldwork experience in Latin America and Africa. Since 2017 she has been supporting the work of the TI Helpdesk. Besides the Helpdesk, she provides research support to a TI project on state capture in the Western Balkans.