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Ambassador William G. Walker, Rockville, Maryland, USA, Chairman

Former U.S. Ambassador to El Salvador and Special Representative of the Secretary General of the UN in Eastern Slavonia, Croatia, Ambassador Walker led the Kosovo Verification Mission in 1998-99. He is credited with alerting the international community to the severity of sectarian violence in Kosovo just prior to the NATO bombing.

Richard S. Lukaj, Greenwich, Connecticut, USA. (Vice-Chairman)
Board member of the National Albanian American Council (NAAC); former Senior Managing Director at Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. Lukaj is CEO of the Bank Street Group, LLC, an investment banking firm. He is active with several Albanian-American civic organizations

Ambassador Morton Abramowitz, Washington, DC, USA
Mort is a senior fellow at The Century Foundation and former president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. He was a career Foreign Service Officer, serving as US Ambassador to Turkey and as Assistant Secretary of State. He advised the Kosovo delegation to the Rambouillet Conference in 1999.

Ronald Cami, New York, New York, USA
Partner in the corporate practice of the law firm of Cravath, Swaine, Moore, LLP. Almost 200 years old, Cravath is widely regarded as the premier American law firm. A graduate of Harvard and Rutgers, Ron’s family roots are in Dibar, Macedonia.

Vjosa Dobruna, Prishtina, Kosova
A pediatric doctor by training and profession, Vjosa became an activist in the 1990s assisting victims of the growing violence in Kosovo and in telling Kosovo’s story to the world. She founded the Center for Protection of Women and Children, and became co-Minister of Democratization in the first UNMIK government. She is at present Chair of the Board of RTK, Kosovo’s public broadcaster.

Gazmend Haxhia, Tirana, Albania
President of the Albania Center for Management Services and Avis Rent-A-Car Albania, Gazi is a graduate of Tirana and Columbia Universities. He teaches Business Ethics and Entrepreneurship in the MBA programs at Tirana University and Bled Business School, Slovenia, and was a founder of the Polis University for Architecture and Urban Planning in Tirana.

James Hooper, Falls Church, Virginia, USA
Managing director of the Public International Law and Policy Group, Hooper served with the U.S. State Department for more than 25 years. As head of the Balkan Action Council and Washington director of the International Crisis Group, he worked extensively on issues affecting Kosovo.

Akan Ismaili, Prishtina, Kosova
A pioneer in information technology in Kosovo, Akan is founder and chief executive officer of IPKO Net, Kosovo's first internet provider and now Kosovo’s leading private sector supplier of mobile telephone, internet and cable television services. Akan was the original “incorporator” of the AUK Foundation in Kosova, and remains a strong supporter of AUK and employer of our graduates.

Louis Sell, Whitefield, Maine, USA
Formerly a diplomat with the U.S. State Department and then principal with the International Crisis Group, Louis worked on the Dayton Accords and for more than ten years led policy initiatives throughout the Balkans. During the start-up of A.U.K. he served as Executive Director in both Prishtina and the US, playing a key role in AUK’s founding.

James Watters, Ph.D., Rochester, NY, USA (representing Rochester Institute of Technology)
RIT’s Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration, Dr Jim Watters is a key link between AUK and RIT, and with RIT’s other programs around the globe. He holds a Ph.D. in higher education management from Cornell.

Ex-officio (non-voting):
Rezart Spahia (General Counsel), New York, New York, USA
Associate with legal firm of Cravath, Swaine, Moore, LLP. Rezart serves as legal advisor to the Trustees, donating his services pro bono. His family is originally from Tirana.