Women Lead Florence Conference 2025

Albiera Antinori - President, Antinori Wines

Sasha Perugini - Program Director and Director of Global Innovation, Syracuse University

Benedetta Albanese - Councilor for Education, Professional Training, & Equal Opportunities, City of Florence

Mirjeta Beqiri, Ph.D. - Professor of Operations Management, Gonzaga University

Mirjeta holds a BBA in Statistics from the University of Tirana, Albania and an MBA, & Ph.D. in Operations Management from Southern Illinois University, Carbondale. Mirjeta teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the field of Data Analysis and Operations Management. Moreover, in 2017, along with the Gonzaga in Florence faculty, Tamara Evans, Mirjeta initiated and successfully developed and carried out the first faculty led study abroad program at the MBA level – Doing Business in Europe: Gonzaga in Belgium and Italy. In addition to teaching in the School of Business Administration, Mirjeta teaches Inferential Statistics in the DNP program in the School of Health Sciences, as well as volunteers to teach in the Jesuit Worldwide Learning program. Prior to coming to the United States, Mirjeta worked as the Director of the Statistical Directory of the District Council of Shkoder, Albania, and as Assistant Professor and Department Chair at the Faculty of Economy, University “Luigj Gurakuqi”, Shkoder, Albania. Her research interests include perceived waiting times, service quality, outsourcing, business ethics, business education, and distance learning. She is a member of several professional organizations, such as Decision Sciences Institute, POMS, and EUROMA, and served as the member of “Ruane Award of Business Education Innovation” Selection Committee (2016, 2017), as well as the Co-Chair of the Instructional Award Innovation Competition, Decision Sciences Institute (2017).

In the Spokane community, Mirjeta serves on the Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Inland Northwest Board and supports other organizations as well.