Anita Krasniqi, Community Builders of Kansas City’s new comptroller, grew up in Pristina, Kosovo – the country’s capital. With a population of just under 400,000, Pristina is Kosovo’s largest city by area and population. Due to its location in the center of the country, it is the economic, financial, political and trade center as well.

Growing up, Krasniqi always knew she would do something with numbers.

“Math was one of my favorite subjects in school, but it wasn’t until sophomore year in college that I started taking more accounting classes and directed my focus to accounting and finance,” she said. 

After graduating from University of Pristina, Kosovo, Krasniqi worked at NATO doing general accounting before moving to the United States in 2006.

“I came to Kansas City to join my husband, who was attending UMKC School of Dentistry at the time,” she said. Her husband is also from Kosovo and had come to the United States earlier as a war refugee. 

When Krasniqi first arrived in Kansas City, she enrolled in Rockhurst University where she earned her MBA. Her first job in the United States was as staff accountant at QComm Corporation. Next, she worked as an accountant at Clarkson Construction Company and most recently as senior accountant for Harvesters.

This September, she was offered a position at CBKC and was immediately interested. 

“Having been in the non-profit sector, I knew the work would be fulfilling, but it was CBKC’s impact in the local community that excited me most,” Krasniqi said. 

Krasniqi said she has enjoyed her first few weeks on the job and has realized another advantage of working for the organization. 

“Most companies are bringing in experts to train on DEI,” she explained. “At CBKC, diversity, equity and inclusion aren’t just concepts, they are a way of business that is applied daily in a way that I haven’t seen in 16 years in Kansas City.”

As comptroller Krasniqi handles all processes related to the organization’s financials and, through that work, she looks forward to helping CBKC complete its mission of transforming communities and improving the lives of families.

When asked what she misses most about her home of Pristina, she did not hesitate. 

“What I miss most is my family,” she said. “My entire family is still there. Fortunately, we travel back and forth but it’s not as often as we’d like, so we miss celebrating some milestones together.” 

Krasniqi shared that the other thing she misses is the traditional Kosovan cuisine. 

“The traditional food in my country is hard to make and there are no restaurants in Kansas City, or most American cities, that offer it. New York City has a few eateries with Kosovan food, so we eat it when we travel there.”

Traveling is something Krasniqi says she enjoys doing outside of work, as well as bike riding and staying active with her husband and three children, ages 12, nine and four.

Please join us in welcoming Krasniqi to the team.