Ken Biberaj on How to Motivate a Team of Campaign Volunteers

In Chapter 19 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "How Are You Learning to Better Manage and Motivate Teams?" Biberaj finds managing campaign volunteers requires a different approach than managing employees. He learns to give interns and volunteers greater responsibility and holds them accountable for the results. Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Democratic Candidate for City Council in New York City. He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing. Previously Biberaj was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. Biberaj holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University.

Ken Biberaj on Understanding the Key Issues That Matter to Voters

In Chapter 20 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "What Experiences in the Past Year Have Most Influenced the Direction of Your Campaign?" He finds unexpected moments open his eyes most to the key issues such as senior housing, homeless shelters, and keeping schools open that concern voters.

Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Democratic Candidate for City Council in New York City. He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing. Previously Biberaj was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. Biberaj holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University. 

Ken Biberaj on Listening to Voter Concerns on the Campaign Trail

In Chapter 21 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "How Have You Learned to Adapt When Things Have Not Worked Out as Planned?" Biberaj learns that voters often need some space to air their grievances. By being polite and letting an individual vent, Biberaj is able to understand their concern better and try to address it if it is something he has the power to do.

Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Democratic Candidate for City Council in New York City. He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing. Previously Biberaj was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. Biberaj holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University. 

Ken Biberaj on the Humbling Experience of Running for Office

In Chapter 22 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "What Has Been Your Most Humbling Experience To Date Campaigning for Public Office?" Biberaj notes that the entire process of campaigning is humbling, from working to stand out from rivals to building awareness and name recognition with voters.

Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Democratic Candidate for City Council in New York City. He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing. Previously Biberaj was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. Biberaj holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University. 

Ken Biberaj on What It Takes to Win a City Council Primary Election

In Chapter 23 of 23 in his 2013 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council Candidate Ken Biberaj answers "What Will It Take For You to Get the Votes Necessary to Win Both the Primary and the Election?" Biberaj breaks down exactly what he must do to win on September 10th. He discusses grassroots campaign strategy elements from analyzing data to registering voters to getting them to vote on election day.

Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Democratic Candidate for City Council in New York City. He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing. Previously Biberaj was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. Biberaj holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University. 

How Father Inspires Son to Pursue Public Service Career - Ken Biberaj

In Chapter 1 of 21 in his 2012 Capture Your Flag interview, New York City Council candidate and public relations executive Ken Biberaj answers "What is the Source of Your Passion for Public Service?"  Biberaj shares what he learned from his parents' immigration story, including his father's public service as a radio broadcaster for "Voice of America" in Albania.  This teaches Ken that public service matters and informed his education and career decisions to fulfill this intention.  Ken Biberaj is currently a 2013 Candidate for New York City Council for the West Side of Manhattan.  He is also a public relations executive for the Russian Tea Room restaurant at One Fifty Fifty Seven Corporation, a family business focused on real estate development, investment sales and retail leasing.  Previously he was Florida Research Director for the Kerry-Edwards for President Campaign. He holds a JD from New York Law School, a Masters in Public Policy (MPP) from Harvard University Kennedy School of Government, and a BA in Political Science from American University.

Transcription: 

Erik Michielsen: What is the source of your passion for public service?

Ken Biberaj: Well, my parents emigrated from Albania and we ended up in the Bronx. And my dad worked 3 jobs while learning English. He was the oldest of 8 kids. He worked as a pizza man, a doorman, and a cab driver, and went to Columbia. And he got his PhD at Columbia and then came back to get a job for the government in DC at Voice of America. While he was there, he was the head of the Albanian service so he was on-air broadcasting into a communist country and we had no idea if anybody was ever listening to it.

As communism began to crumble in Albania, turned out that everybody was listening to my dad on the radio, so we kind of grew up seeing our father as somebody who had had such an impact on an entire country. So what he was able to do as just one person has always been a source of inspiration for me in understanding that public service matters. You can actually have a real impact on people’s lives.

And because of his work and you know, he’s my dad, and I’m the oldest of 4 kids, I always wanted to kind of emulate what he had done. So I went to American University in DC and tried to get involved locally there. Went on to the Harvard Kennedy School and then worked on a presidential campaign and all the while trying to do what I could to make my community better, but always in the back of my head understanding that we all kind of have an obligation to do public service.