A legacy of women leading women.

On February 5, 1993, feeling the absence of Albanian women in all the activities of the community, Shqipe Biba founded the first women's organization "Motrat Qiriazi" — a name honoring the pioneering work of Sisters Sevasti and Parashqevi Qiriazi. She led the organization for a decade, drawing other Albanian-American women and girls closer together.

During this time she published the magazine Shpresa as editor and journalist, addressing the concerns and successes of her compatriots in the USA — and in particular the Albanian woman. She also led a weekly Albanian TV program covering social topics across the diaspora in New York and surrounding areas, interviewing prominent Albanian and American figures including presidents, senators and members of Congress.

She was among the key organizers of nearly every major protest and demonstration for the Kosovo cause — in New York, Washington, Dayton, Ohio — and was received at Congress and the White House as part of the Albanian delegation on the Kosovo issue. She organized humanitarian concerts in New York, Connecticut, New Jersey, Chicago, Detroit and Dallas in solidarity with the people of Kosovo before and after the war.

She organized the collection of material goods worth $170,000 for the orphans of Krusha e Vogël, and in 2002 sent a shipping contingent to Kosovo despite heavy customs tariffs imposed in Greece. During the war in Kosovo, from February 12 to April 20, 1999, she found herself in the region — grieving the loss of her mother while facing the horror of the conflict, reporting for LDK Radio from among the refugees in Macedonia, and sheltering many families who fled the war.

A lifelong writer, she has published prose and poetry since childhood. Today she resides with her family in Sarasota, Florida.

Dr. Anna Kohen was born in Vlora, Albania, and left in 1966 with seven family members, moving to Greece where she completed Dental School and earned her 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. A dental-practice ad she placed in Illyria newspaper drew calls from Albanians seeking help with jobs and more — and from that moment she began helping the Albanian community and never stopped.

In 1998 Dr. Kohen was elected to serve as president of Shoqata "Motrat Qiriazi," founded in 1993 by a group of women from Kosova under the leadership of Mrs. Shqipe Biba. She then founded a not-for-profit registered in New York State as "The Albanian American Women Organization" (AAWO), which serves all Albanian-American communities and includes Shoqata Motrat Qiriazi. AAWO's 501(3)(c) status was pivotal in supporting refugees during the Kosovo humanitarian crisis.

In 2001, under her leadership, AAWO received one million dollars in funding from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement in Washington D.C. for the program "Helping Sisters in Need." With new offices, the organization hired staff and expanded its ability to serve refugees.

In 2004, President Alfred Moisiu awarded her the medal for Special Civil Merits for valuable contributions to Albanians during the Kosovar humanitarian crisis and to Albanian emigrants in the United States. In 2006 Vlora named her an "Honored Citizen," and she was instrumental in renaming the historic street where she and most of Vlora's 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 life-saving heart surgeries in America. In 2010 she was honored with a Proclamation from New York City Hall. In 2013 the AANO New York Chapter presented her with an Achievement Award, and in 2014 President Bujar Nishani awarded her a second Recognition of Civil Merits in Washington D.C.

In 2016 she accepted a Golden Eagle Award at the first Diaspora Summit in Albania on behalf of AAWO. She founded the AAWO Florida Chapter and continues the AAWO mission in the Tampa Bay area.

Her biography, The Flower of Vlora — Growing up Jewish in Communist Albania, was published in 2022, honoring the support the Albanian people gave to her family and its Jewish community during the Holocaust. Dr. Kohen lives in Sarasota, Florida — and after founding both AAWO chapters, her dearest accomplishments remain her two children and three grandchildren.

Eva was elected president of AAWO 'Motrat Qiriazi Organization on April 2026. Since 2005 Eva has been on the Board of Directors of AAWO with Dr. Anna Kohen as her mentor, and later becoming the secretary of the organization running day to day operations of the organization. The past few years Eva has focused more on leading the AAWO seminars for empowering women in our community. Bringing to the organization a varity of topics and speakers that would help women in our community to become leaders to take care of their health and finances. Eva has lead fundraisers and events to prosper and strengthen AAWO "Motrat Qiriazi" Organization securing funds and making sure its continuation and success. As Eva take over this great role her mission is to continue empowering women in our community, to make sure our sisters find a place to learn, get inspired and make a new friend. Eva's goal is to make alliences and unite Albanian Womens Organizations in our community. Together We Are Stronger! With gratitude I pledge to follow the steps of President Beti Beno Esq. my sister, my friend, my adviser. It takes more then a village to run this amazing organization.

Eva Milo Burnazi is a researcher and clinical radiochemist with over two decades of experience in cancer imaging and molecular diagnostics. Her career spans both Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and Weill Cornell Medicine, where she has contributed to cutting-edge biomedical imaging research and clinical applications. Eva has ove 35 publications in radiochemistry field, and a few first in humanss drugs for imaging like [F18] MFBG, [F-18] PARPi, [F-18] SKI (Dasatinib) and [I-124] PuH71. Her passion for sience and radiochemistry continues in developing new and better tracer for imaging and preparing in day to day operations clinical radiopharmaceuticals at Citigroup Biomedical Imaging Center, Weill Cornell Medicine.

The humanitarian spirit of Eva comes from her family roots and upbringing starting with Nena Eleni and father Viktor and amazing mom Kaime. Her best friends when she emigrated with her whole family in the United Stated 1993 were her sister Klodi and her brother Samuel. Her softness and good heart comes from Pogradec and Gjoli (Lake Ohrid).

Eva continues to educate herself in the nonprofit field and has received a certificate "Financial Success for Nonprofits" by taking classes at Cornell University.