Selma Porca is the first woman to be named Executive Director of the Congress of Bosniaks of North America. Selma wears many hats in her role as ED including managing large scale national projects, consulting and educating Bosniak-American communities on advocacy matters, writing opinion and policy papers and advocating on behalf of the Bosniak-American community in Washington D.C., among others. Selma regularly meets with US government officials advocating for the interests of Bosniak-Americans and is building a network of likeminded organizations and other diaspora communities across North America.
Prior to joining CBNA, Selma worked in the public accounting sector for over a decade, between PwC and Deloitte. She worked closely with multinational companies in organizing the global movements of their mobile workforce, ensuring companies and taxpayers comply with global tax regulations. Her focus was on tax process review and development in addition to engagement and project management.
Selma graduated from the University of Washington with a Bachelors of Business Administration majoring in Accounting and a Masters of Professional Accounting majoring in Tax.
Selma has served and currently serves on Boards of several non-profit organizations. She has always been an active member in the Bosniak community of Seattle. Selma’s experiences as a child refugee from Banja Luka contributed greatly to her community activism and her unwavering commitment to social responsibility.
Amir Ovcina is a licensed and practicing attorney working for the IceMiller Legal Counsel, based in Chicago, Illinois with primary focus on corporate governance matters, mergers and acquisitions and other forms of strategic investment transactions. Amir graduated in 2001 from Northwestern University with a bachelor’s degree in Economics and in 2008 with a law degree (magna cum laude) from the University of Illinois College of Law.
Prior to attending law school, Amir worked as a strategy consultant and was part of a management development program at one of the largest privately held corporations in the Chicago area. He is active in his local Chicago Bosnian community.
Sabina holds a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and Spanish from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, TX, and a Master of Science with an emphasis in Educational Leadership from the University of Wisconsin – Oshkosh. She is certified in lean methodology and trained in Disney Institute Perfect Service Principles.
Currently, she provides leadership and oversight of strategic communications to empower and engage Humana’s community of nearly ten thousand nurses and social services professionals. She employs creative strategies to drive nurse connections to the nursing community of practice, the organization, and each other. This promotes a culture that engages, values, and inspires clinical professionals while impacting the health outcomes of the people and communities they serve.
Sabina is a proud Bosniak-American and fluently speaks her native Bosnian language and Spanish. She resides in North East Wisconsin.
Lejla Pekarić is an experienced senior leader and owner of a business consulting firm specializing in strategic, leadership and operational matters for privately-held businesses.
Lejla is a CPA-CA with a Masters degree in professional accounting with over 15 years of advisory experience, including over 10 years in senior leadership roles in prominent professional services organizations. She started her career at KPMG, and then moved into the Director, Operations for Western Canada of Grant Thornton where she led various initiatives such as integrating over 20 M&A deals, spearheading the creation of new departments, and leading multiple national projects.
Lejla is also a certified Professional Project Manager, Change Management Professional and Leadership Coach and has also contributed to academia by teaching at Simon Fraser University’s Beedie School of Business.
Alongside her professional expertise, Lejla’s lifelong passion for art fuels her innovative and creative approach in supporting clients. She is fluent in English, French and Bosnian.
Mirza Prses is an Associate Director with Guidehouse in Chicago, IL and has over a decade of experience in the energy, sustainability, and infrastructure sector. He earned both a Bachelors in Economics and MBA from the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC).
Prior to his current role, Mirza worked for the United Nations in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, where he led the nationwide implementation of energy efficiency projects on public buildings (hospitals, schools, universities, etc.). He worked and negotiated with all levels of BiH government and the projects have resulted in a significant reduction of carbon emissions, increase in jobs, and improved occupancy conditions. He was also a member of the Council of FK Zeljeznicar Sarajevo.
Additionally, Mirza has a passion for soccer, considering he has played soccer for the UIC Men’s Team, Zeljeznicar Sarajevo youth academy, and the U17 BiH national team. He spends most of his free time with his wife and two boys, enjoying the outdoors and traveling.
Seasoned finance and entrepreneur professional with more than two decades of experience delivering business growth and financial success. Proven track record across Capital Markets, Real Estate, Health & Wellness, and Tech with a deep expertise in financial modeling, investment analysis, and scaling businesses. Specializing in driving business growth, optimizing financial strategies, and identifying lucrative investment opportunities.
Previously, he had joined the Board of Trustees for the Advisory Council of Bosnia & Hercegovina, played a significant role in organizing the Susret Bosnjaka Conference in Phoenix, AZ, and collaborated with Phoenix Area Police Departments to enhance understanding and communication while continuing to demonstrate my commitment to our community.
From managing investments to scaling business, Ali brings a result driven approach to every endeavor. He is passionate about leveraging technology to drive better insights and create long term value. Ali enjoys travelling and currently reside in Arizona with his wife and three children.
Hasan Kajtezovic is a Senior Supply Chain Manager at Arthrex, Inc. a global medical device manufacturer headquartered in Naples, Florida. During his decade-long tenure with the company, Hasan played a key role in the development of a strategic supplier relationship management program. Hasan’s work has fostered and promoted supplier flexibility and agility in response to an increasingly demanding marketplace that helps Arthrex release more than 2,000 new orthopaedic products annually. Hasan double majored in Accounting and Finance at the University of Northern Iowa, and holds a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from Florida Gulf Coast University (FGCU). In 2017 he co-founded an industry trade group that partnered with FGCU to successfully launch a Supply Chain degree program. In 2019 Hasan was invited to join the Lutgert College of Business faculty to help educate and inspire the next generation of Supply Chain leaders as an Adjunct Professor.
Hasan is a member of the Growing Associates in Naples class of 2019; serves on the Employer Advisory Committee for FGCU, and serves on the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee for the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. He was also recognized as one of ’40 under 40’ by the Gulfshore Business Magazine for 2020.
Admir Muratovic was born and raised in Slovenia, where he obtained his bachelor and master’s degree in law. He received a “Best thesis award” by the UN Association for Slovenia. He spent two semesters on Erasmus+ student exchange programs at Istanbul University, Turkey and Ghent University, Belgium, and successfully competed in international law moot-court contests around the world. For two years he was part of a university’s pro bono legal clinic providing free legal aid.
As a junior legal advisor, Admir interned in the Sarajevo office of Trial International, an NGO headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, fighting against impunity for international crimes and assisting victims of war crimes in Bosnia and Herzegovina in their quest for justice. Before moving to the US, he was a legal assistant in the Government of the Republic of Slovenia, working on issues of succession amongst the republics of the former Yugoslavia. In 2021, he started an LL.M. (Master of Laws) program at Wayne State University Law School, where he was a research assistant in international law.
Admir is particularly interested in the history of Bosniak immigration in the US, going as far back as the end of the 19th century. Even at his young age, he managed to establish a wide rapport by visiting many Bosniak communities throughout Europe and in the US.
Eldar was born in Brčko. He has a B.A. in Economics from Simon Fraser University, an M.A. in Economics from University of British Columbia, and a Ph.D. in Economics from University of Alberta.
With a diverse background in economics, Eldar has extensive private and public sector experience since 2003 in economic analysis, modeling, forecasting, impact assessment, input-output analysis, cost-benefit analysis, multiple account evaluation, business case analysis, policy analysis, consulting, research, and teaching.
With a deep passion for economics, Eldar has been teaching various courses in numerous universities since 2006, including international economics, macroeconomics, microeconomics, mathematical economics, urban economics, and economic growth.
Eldar loves biking, hiking, and traveling with his wife and two sons.
Murat Muratovic works as a Software Architect at Mercy Technology Services in Saint Louis, Missouri. Murat holds a Bachelor and Master of Science degree in Computer Science from the University of Missouri. Throughout his career, Murat has held several board member and leadership positions spanning across non-profit organizations whose aim is to improve the status of the Bosnian community in the United States. Such organizations include Congress of Bosniaks of North America, an organization that promotes civic, educational and cultural programs designed to further the knowledge of Bosniak history, language, and culture.
Additionally, Murat is one of the founders of Advisory Council for Bosnia and Herzegovina, an organization dedicated to promoting relations between United States and Bosnia & Herzegovina. He also helped to co-found Sevdah North America, a non-profit organization formed to preserve and promote traditional Bosnian music on a grassroots level. Murat volunteers his subject matter expertise in digital promotion to organizations such as Bosnian Heart, Spirit of Bosnia. Entrepreneurial in spirit, Mr. Muratovic ran and published Bosnian newspaper “Dijaspora bosnjacka,” and hosted “Radio Behar,” Bosnian radio program in St. Louis.