The Journey to Success: Featuring Ms. Irena Kaçi, Executive Director for the Worcester County Poetry Association!

Do you love getting lost in a good book or feel drawn to creative writing? Have you ever been curious about astrology or grew up watching anime like Sailor Moon? Whether it’s advocating for immigrant communities or helping poets bring their visions to life through publications – does any of that sound like you? If so, you’ll want to meet Ms. Irena Kaçi, Executive Director of the Worcester County Poetry Association! In this spotlight interview, you’ll learn about her inspiring journey from home country of Albania to Worcester, how she balances her career and family, and what it means to her to live a meaningful, creative life. Follow along as she advocates for her community, uplifts local poets, and shares how she defines “success” in her own words.

Meet Ms. Irena Kaçi!

Q: Tell me about your background.

“I was born in Albania, and raised in Durrës, Albania. When I was 12 years old, my family moved to Hartford, CT. My parents still reside in a Hartford area suburb. I grew up speaking Albanian and Italian, and around age 11 began taking some English Language private lessons. It was a good base for having to learn English once moving here. I graduated from Bulkeley High School in Hartford, and moved on to Clark University. I graduated in 2006 with my BA in Philosophy. After college, I lived in Boston, specifically the Jamaica Plain neighborhood and worked in the restaurant industry. In 2013, my spouse and I had our first child and then in 2014 we moved to Worcester. I have lived in Worcester ever since focusing on raising my two children. When both my children were old enough to enter the school system, I began freelancing for some local publication, including Pulse Magazine, where I still write the monthly feature. In 2022 I also began working as an Administrator the Worcester County Poetry Association. The position has grown and evolved over the past three years, and just this year I was named the WCPA’s Executive Director. I look forward to continuing my work in support of the literary arts here in Worcester.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: Do you own a pet? If so, what is their name and how has your pet impacted your life? Share a bit about them.
“Alas, no permanent pets. In 2020, my family and I briefly fostered an orange cat we named Bruce. He was great. I can imagine one day having a pet or two.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: What’s a fun or unique fact about you? What do you like to do in your free time? Do you have any hobbies, passions, unknown talents, or special interests? If so, what are they?
“I am an avid reader and writer, hence my interest in the work. As a child I was obsessed with Sailor Moon, the anime (which I watched in Italian TV) and the show ended up becoming a gateway into a very robust albeit amateur interest in astrology. I have a special talent of being very sticky brained with remembering dates so it is freakishly easy and intuitive for me to remember people’s birthdays, and therefore their birth charts. It’s a real party trick.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.

Q: Did you join any extracurriculars when you were younger? Any after school clubs, organizations, programs, or sports in the past? If so, explain.
“All four years of high school, I participated in and eventually ran the Hartford Area Student Newspaper “MetroBridge”. It was supervised by Volunteer Hartford Courant staff and it was a huge source of joy and community for me. The summer before high school, I completed a two month long Japanese Language & Culture immersion program at Central Connecticut State University, and during that very brief window spoke some rudimentary Japanese.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: Do you have any notable achievements or awards that you’ve received in the past?
“I won a variety of scholarships toward my college education, but I don’t think I could name many of them. During my last year at Clark I was awarded the 2006 Logan Fellowship. The award came with a modest stipend, as well as the responsibility for organizing 3 events on campus that had some literary significance. I was particularly flattering to be given the award because it was something that could only be awarded via nomination. Perhaps, it was a little clue toward my future.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: What were some challenges you had to overcome during High School? Any advice to Highlanders?
“High School for me was brutal. I was significantly depressed, and had little by way of adult guidance. My parents were recent immigrants trying to survive, and I had to unlearn and relearn a whole bunch of cultural and linguistic systems on the fly, while also transitioning from child to adult. It was a lot. By way of advice, I really gravitate towards the ‘it gets better’ method. It does get better. So, my best advice is do what you need to do to get through the tough times in high school. I found a lot of comfort in self-expression, and stories. I processed my emotions through constantly writing everything down and then inspecting it and sometimes making it into art. That’s not for everyone. But, everyone has the power to discover their preferred coping mechanisms. And, one of the advantages of being in high school is how much your time is your own. Even in school, your inner world is your own. Use it, make it cozy, make it comfortable, make it a safe place, and when you finally become an adult, you can expand your inner world to build the kind of life you wish to live.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: What are your hot takes right now?
“Hot takes. Hm… I would say I’m pretty anti-car, and I’m especially anti driving age staying at 16. I’m also pro re-testing for licenses every 5 years. I don’t think we have built the kind of city/country that sets people up for success with regards to safe driving. There are just frontal lobe development timelines that make it wildly irresponsible to give people, and especially people under 25 unfettered (or barely fettered) access to both smartphones and motor vehicles. In general, I think Americans are too desensitized to the dangers of daily driving. I am convinced that visiting any part of the world that has strong public transport infrastructure and navigable bike lanes would convert anyone to my way of thinking.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: Do you have any tips on self care, and how do you approach it? What’s your daily routine like? Why do you believe it’s important?
“Honestly, my biggest self care tip is ‘listen to your body’. Our bodies are in constant communication with us, and it is wild how much it’s not something we talk about in health education. Having a routine can work in some ways, but it quickly becomes a placeholder for actual daily check ins with the self. There are days when your body needs to go slower or faster. There are days when your body needs more food or more exercise, or more water. If I wish gen z or gen alpha anything is for them to inherit a world in which careers are a tertiary concern and that you are able to meet the basic human need of staying in daily harmonious conversation with your body. The work you do should fit into your needs, and not the other way around.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.

Q: What’s something you feel nostalgic about? Is there anything you feel very grateful towards? What are some of the most memorable school moments or events that have still stuck with you?
“My biggest nostalgia pang comes from the fact that my hometown has become overdeveloped. Because Albania was under a very strict communist regime (think Europe’s North Korea) I grew up in a very underdeveloped part of the world. Even though our coastline was beautiful, it was also very bare and accessible. The regime fell around the time that I moved to the US and in the past 30 years, Durrës’ coastline has morphed into an overdeveloped, commercialized string of resort-like beaches. Barring some kind of apocalypse or (god willing) time travel, I’m never going to see that version of my hometown again. I have tried to accept this as fact yet every time I actively have the thought, it still feels like a gruesome betrayal.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: Do you have any music recommendations?
“While I am sure I’ll never love another genre the way that I love 90s R&B, I’m a big fan of the bands Neutral Milk Hotel, Beirut, Alvvays, and my second favorite genre is probably screaming female vocalists (Florence & The Machine, Tori Amos and their ilk)” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: Do you want to share a few words about a loved one? What role do relationships – whether with family, friends, or colleagues – play in your life? Do they inspire, motivate, or offer valuable lessons to you?
“It’s trite but universal: I am an infinitely better person because of my spouse and children. I think good relationships make you a better person. I won’t belabor what everyone says about relationship red flags, but I will say that admiring your spouse or your friends is super underrated. Depending on your temperament, liking people can feel really easy. But you should really be surrounding yourself with people whom you admire.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.

What Does Ms. Irena Kaçi. Do for a Living?

Q: Do you have any community work, volunteer work, or internship experiences you want to share with us?
“I have done a lot of volunteer translating and advocating for immigrants. I started doing it as a teenager and it’s still something that I occasionally fall into for new Albanian immigrants.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: How did you get started in your current profession? What attracted you to your current line of work, and has your passion for it changed over time?
“I took a long career break after working in the restaurant industry to raise children. When I came back to the workforce, I did not want to return to the restaurant industry but wanted to use my social prowess and my tendency toward the unconventional to build something meaningful to me. Working for a literary organization has been kind of a dream job for me. I am extremely passionate about the work, and that’s unlikely to wane.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.

Q: What does a typical day look like for you at your job? How has your role evolved since you first started? What skills do you think are the most essential for success in your profession? What do you find most fulfilling about your current position?
“On a typical day, I arrive at my office around 10am and work at my desk answering emails and strategizing for events. I take a walking break during lunch and either work (work related phone calls) or just use the time to strategize internally. In the afternoon, I usually have a meeting (either in zoom or in person) and make time to engage with our literary publications. I get home around 3 or 4 most days. If I’m involved in a particularly time consuming project, I’ll sometimes make time in the evening for tying up loose ends. As I mentioned previously, I began as an Administrator, and then was promoted to Outreach Coordinator, and just recently became Executive Director. I love being able to collaborate with local poets on their dream programs, and making cool literary events happen.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: Do you have any role models or people you look up to? Who would you consider a mentor or someone who has guided you in your career?
“The older I get the more I look to my parents in earnest. There is a lot that they were able to overcome and accomplish and that feeds my own sense of resiliency and courage. I deeply admire my mother in law as well, whose arc in life resembles my own. She makes me feel like following one’s own compass is not just permissible, but maybe the best way through.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: What has been one of the most difficult decision you’ve had to make in life, and how did you overcome it? How about an experience that made you change the way you see the world? What has helped you grow the most?
“I think the most difficult decision has been accepting that no matter how much you love someone, sometimes a relationship is not going to make it. Like with all other painful experiences, it makes all other lower stakes things way easier. We really are very resilient.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: How would you define success, and do you believe you can reach success despite bad grades? Would you say it’ll be a more difficult experience than others with a good education? What role does having an education play on an individual’s future?
“For me, success is striking a good work-life balance, and being able to always put my family first without having to worry about my livelihood. That’s no easy feat in America, but so far I have been successful by that standard. I was a pretty chaotic student in high school; there was semester where I had an A, B, C, and a D on my report card. I don’t think grades necessarily reflect a person’s potential. However, I do think an education is invaluable. I think being able to think critically, to problem solve in a fair and measured way, to communicate about everything clearly and effectively will always be an asset. Education is essential to honing these skills. They are not easy to come by. I know that student debt is an outrageous problem and I appreciate that well paying jobs don’t necessarily require a college degree anymore. However, higher education will make you a more self-actualized person, and if it is possible to pursue it without crippling debt (via community colleges or scholarships) I think it is absolutely worthwhile.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.

Q: What keeps you grounded? How do you keep a balance between your job and your personal life? If you could change one thing about your life path, would you, and what would it be?
“I don’t know. I think maybe my communist roots? I don’t think I’m special and I don’t think one needs to be special. If we’re lucky, we can be special to a very few people. That’s always been enough for me. My job is a dream job with regards to work-life balance. As long as I’m able to keep up with my tasks, I really do get to set my hours and manage my time how I see fit. It’s what I’ve always wanted. I think maybe it would’ve been nice to come to terms with my strengths a little earlier in life. It is always a little regrettable to have struggled with self esteem for any amount of time; once you don’t struggle with it anymore, it always feels like it went on for too long. But, things take how much time they take.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: What has been the biggest lesson or learning experience in your career/profession so far? How do you stay motivated in your work, especially when working with a team, or when experiencing tough times?
“The biggest learning experience has been that jobs are not dissimilar to interpersonal relationships. It has be borne out time and time again that if something doesn’t feel like a fit from pretty much the first few days, it is unlikely to work out. If you’re in a position to pick and choose work, don’t be afraid to leave something that doesn’t feel right. When the right position comes along, you’ll absolutely know it. It is easy to stay motivated when you have the right work-life balance. I have really struggled to stay engaged in jobs where I just don’t align with the mission. It helps a great deal that I am a true believer in what I’m doing.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: What advice would you give someone considering entering your field of work? What are some common misconceptions people have about your profession? What personal qualities do you believe have helped you succeed in your profession?
“I would say if you’re in a leadership position, confidence is incredibly important. I don’t mean faking confidence or even blindly believing that you are infallible. I mean just the straightforward belief that you are as competent as anyone, and that as long as you’re willing to take responsibility for the choices that you make while in leadership, you have the right to be decisive. So much is out of one’s control in the world that really just making a decision is a valuable skill. So practice making choices, first timidly then boldly. Own your mistakes, stand by your successes, and always be prepared to course correct when things are not looking good. I didn’t know what an Executive Director was until maybe in the past 5 years. I think that’s largely because it can be vastly different things in different organizations. So, if you’re not clear on what a title means in any given company or organization, don’t be afraid to ask. I think getting older has made me vastly more confident, and I think that’s certainly helped pave the way. Aside from that, I would say my tendency toward honesty and straightforwardness. It feels so artless to just say what you think (politely) in many situations, but with a little practice, it can turn into a superpower.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: What changes do you see in your industry, and how are you preparing for them? Do you have any goals for the future? Where do you see yourself in your career in the next 5-10 years?
“Small nonprofits such as the Worcester County Poetry Association are definitely in a sink or swim moment. We are strategizing as best we can behind the scenes. Our strength is that we have survived many lean times before, and we will once again try to prove that the pen is mightier than the sword. I’d love to transform my position into a full time position as my kids age up into high school. In the next 5-10 years, I hope to be right here running a stronger and more robust literary organization in Worcester.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
Q: Can you share a story where your job made a positive impact on someone or your community? What are you most passionate about?
“Launching our latest publication, the ThreeDecker, has been a tremendous boost. We have already been able to publish so many first-time published Worcester County Poets. These are local voices that might otherwise have never been seen in print before. We are so proud of supporting and uplifting our community.” – Ms. Irena Kaçi.
After hearing Ms. Irena Kaçi’s inspiring journey from Albania to here in Worcester and everything she shared with us today, what stood out to you most? Has her story encouraged you to pick up a journal or laptop and start writing? Maybe revisit your favorite anime or explore new ways to support your community? This spotlight interview not only gave us a closer look at her work and passions, but also reminded us how powerful it can be to follow your very own path – even when it can be difficult. Thank you for reading, and don’t forget to click the comment button on your right-hand side to share your thoughts or feedback! Want more interviews like this? Just scroll down and click the ‘The Journey to Success’ tag in red. Stay tuned for more articles!

Get in Touch with Ms. Irena Kaçi!

Email: [email protected]