What Flying for Kosovo is all about:
An El Paso resident and native Kosovo pilot is planning to fly throughout all of Central and South America, in order to raise support and encourage recognition of the country’s newfound independence from Serbia in a trip planned for Spring of this year.
James Berisha, 37, of Brestovc, Kosovo, is planning to depart in his single engine plane from El Paso, TX in Spring 2009 to more than 30 countries to rally support for newly independent Kosovo, which officially became an independent country in February of 2008.
About the Flyingforkosovo.com Team:
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Pilot in Command
James Berisha
+1 (915) 440-0187 | james.berisha@flyingforkosovo.com
Born in Brestovc, Kosovo in 1972. At the age of 23, at Flight Safety Academy in Vero Beach, Florida, he accomplished his childhood dream of becoming a pilot and flight instructor. Since then he has been flying for several years in the arctic weathers of Alaska, the tropical weather of Florida, along the beautiful beaches of California, as well as the blazing hot weather of Texas. Working for Sierra West Airlines flying a Learjet, James has seen some of the most fascinating places on Earth. He will be the pilot in command for the upcoming FlyingforKosovo.com journey to South America, and if successful he will pilot the aircraft to the rest of the countries of the world.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Aviation Consultant
Sokol Ymeri
+1 (907) 223-6585 | sokol.ymeri@flyingforkosovo.com
Born in Ferizaj, Kosovo in 1986. In 1999, during the war in Kosovo, Sokol and his family came to the United States of America as refugees of Kosovo. This was his first time flying an airplane and he knew from that moment on his future would be in aviation. His aviation education started at the airport of Anchorage Alaska where he also developed a hobby in photography, photographing airplanes. Today, you can see his photos in magazines and printouts of his work in businesses around the world. Sokol is currently attending college in Anchorage and is in his 3rd year of his college degree for Aviation Administration Management.
__________________________________________________________________________
Communications Support
Laurie Smith
Bethel, Alaska | laurie_smith@hotmail.com
Born in small farm town in Michigan in 1976. Laurie was not born in Kosovo and is not a pilot – though she has flown in many planes, knows many pilots and has met many Albanians. After earning her graduate degree in social work from the University of Michigan, she began working with groups in our society whose voice often goes unheard because of their life circumstances. In 2005, she moved to the Alaskan Arctic to work with Native Alaskans, first dealing with issues of interpersonal and community violence and later working on health care and chronic disease prevention. After years of being driven around Bethel by Albanian cab drivers and learning about their culture she met James Berisha. It just made sense to help him fulfill his mission of raising awareness and educating the world about his country and providing a voice for those that can no longer speak.
_________________________________________________________________________________________
Logistics, Communication, and Tech Specialist
Betim Deva
Phoenix, AZ | betimd(AT)gmail.com
Betim is a computer engineer who joined and supported Flying For Kosovo team since the beginning of the mission by providing logistics, communication, and tech support for the mission, as well as helping it with the online presence. Betim, and James met in 2009 when James was planning to start his exciting mission on raising awareness about Kosovo independence in Central and South American countries.
Later that year, Betim took his first flying lesson instructed by James on a CESNA 172 plane.
