Dr. Anna Kohen was Born in Vlora, Albania and left in 1966 with seven of her family members and moved to Greece where she completed Dental School and earned a Dental Degree .

In 1991, with the help of several Jewish organizations, she brought 37 of her Albanian relatives (a total of 10 families) to the United States.

That same year she was invited to Albania to celebrate the founding of the Albanian-Israeli Society and was appointed an Honorary Member. In 1991 she put an ad in Illyria newspaper. She was advertising her dental business and she kept receiving phone calls from many Albanians to help with jobs and more.That’s where she started Helping the Albanian community and never stoped. 

In 1998 Dr Kohen was elected to serve as the president of Shoqata “Motrat Qiriazi founded by a group of women from Kosova in 1993 under the Leadership of Mrs Shqipe Biba

At this time Dr Kohen founded a non for profit organization that was registered in NY STATE as “The Albanian American Women Organization”

(AAWO) which served and continues to serve all Albanian American Communities.

In this new organization was included the “Shoqata Motrat Qiriazi .”

The 501/C3 status of AAWO Motrat Qiriazi INC  helped to serve and support all refugees during the Kosovo humanitarian crises. In 2001, under Dr Kohen’s leadership, AAWO got  one million dollars funding from ORR ( office for refugee resettlement) in Washington DC to be used for the Program “Helping Sisters in Need.”

With new offices, we were able to hire staff and accept donations to help the refugees.

In 2004, The President of the Albanian Republic, Alfred Moisiu, awarded Dr. Kohen the medal for Special Civil Merits for “Valuable contributions in helping Albanians during the Kosovar humanitarian crisis, and for precious aid given to Albanian emigrants in the United States of America.”

In 2006 she visited the city of Vlora, where she was awarded with the title of “Honored Citizen” by the Mayor of Vlora. Dr. Kohen was instrumental in re-naming the street where she and most Jews lived to “The Jewish Street”, today a tourist attraction. 

In partnership with The Gift of Life, Dr. Kohen assisted in bringing many children from Kosovo and Albania for heart surgeries to America.

In 2010 Dr. Kohen was honored with a Proclamation from the New York City Hall for her many contributions and achievements in the Albanian community. She is an Honorary Member of the Albanian Medical Society and is part of Albanian American success stories.

In 2013, the AANO New York Chapter awarded Dr. Kohen with an Achievement Award, and in 2014 she received her second medal in “Recognition of Civil Merits” in Washington D.C. by President of Albania, Bujar Nishani.

In 2016 Dr. Kohen accepted a Golden Eagle Award at the first Diaspora Summit in Albania on behalf of AAWO. She Founded the AAWO FL Chapter and is continuing her legacy by fulfilling the AAWO mission by helping women and children in need in Tampa Bay Area.

Dr Kohen’s Biography, “The Flower of Vlora- Growing up Jewish in communist Albania,” was published in 2022. Her book mentions the support of the Albanian people to her family and its Jewish community during the Holocaust. Dr Kohen lives in Sarasota FL. After Founding the AAWO NY and AAWO FL chapter, her dearest accomplishments are her two children and three grandchildren.