Executive Office

Violeta started building expertise in local economic and rural development and standardization, upon graduation in 1998, as an expert and team leader in USAID programs in Serbia and the region, through the design and implementation of complex development projects worth over 10 million dollars. As the first employee of NALED, and its Executive Director since July 2007, she was instrumental in growing an independent membership organization, which later grew into the largest public-private association focusing on building a favorable business environment in Serbia. She is a graduate philologist and gained further education in the field of economics and project management in specialized training and study programs in the United States and Europe. She is engaged as a motivational speaker and moderator at professional conferences around the topic of women's entrepreneurship and leadership in the country and abroad. She has gained international experience as a consultant in the field of certification and intellectual property protection. She is a member of the Regional Council as the umbrella body of the Network for a Favorable Business Environment, which brings together state institutions and sector organizations from Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia and Montenegro to institutionalize mechanisms for cooperation and strengthening the competitiveness of the region. She actively contributes to the preservation of traditional heritage of Serbia and employment programs for women through the role of the founder and president of Ethno Network. 

Jelena has been engaged in the reform of legislative process and regulatory framework for doing business, investment promotion, business support programs and establishing partnerships between the public and private sectors, as an expert in policy reform and implementation of economic development policies. She started her career in 2000, in the International Republican Institute (IRI) working on the development of political parties, civil society organizations and local governments. After that, she spent five years as the Head of Local Economic Development Team in USAID Municipal Economic Growth Activity program. During that appointment Jelena engaged in the development of more than 50 economic development strategies and institutional capacities for dealing with economic issues in more than 30 local governments. She worked at similar programs in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Ukraine, Slovakia, Kyrgyzstan and Jordan. Since 2010, Jelena joined NALED, first as the Program Director and then as Policy Director. For the past 3 years, she served as the technical and expert coordinator of the Government of Serbia Joint Group for improving Serbia’s position on the World Bank’s Doing Business list. Within this engagement, she coordinates the development of Government's Doing Business Reform Plans, leading the correspondence with the World Bank, by preparing reform updates and coordinating and monitoring the implementation of the Plan. During a period of 3 years (until 2017) she was the lead expert in construction permitting reform in Serbia, a reform that was recognized by the World Bank, as the biggest reform in Serbia for the past 10 years. She was the Project Manager for the implementation of the electronic construction permitting system (EBPS) in Serbia (supported by the German and Swiss governments) and led the implementation of the World Bank’s project targeted at training and mentoring of the EBPS users. In 2017 she was the key expert in designing the cadaster reform (property register reform), and in 2018 she worked on drafting legislation for this reform - the Law on Property Registration. She is a member of more than 10 Government's working groups, working on tax legislation, public procurement, shadow economy, and other business environment issues.

Ana has many years of experience in regulatory reform in the field of digitization with a special focus on reform within the public sector. For over five years, she has been managing the projects and activities of NALED in the field of digitization and eGovernment. She significantly contributed to the implementation of several reforms in the field of public administration, such as the introduction of counters in municipalities and cities throughout Serbia for registration on the eGovernment Portal, the introduction of the local eGovernment index, but also reforms related to the improvement of the economic environment, such as optimization and digitization the procedure for calculating the tax on the transfer of absolute rights in the procedure of buying and selling used vehicles and amending the Law on Business Companies in the part where companies are required to register on the e-Government Portal. In her previous work, she participated in over 20 working groups of the Government of the Republic of Serbia for the amendment of regulations in the field of digitalization. She completed her undergraduate and master's studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences. She speaks English and French.

Ilija completed his undergraduate and master's studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Belgrade and earned the title of Master of Political Science in International Affairs. Already during his studies, he had the opportunity to intern at the Youth Initiative for Human Rights on the "Justice and Reconciliation" program, and he also stayed at the Faculty of Political Sciences of the University of Zagreb as part of a student exchange. He was a participant in numerous programs related to reconciliation and cooperation of young people in the Western Balkans. He was also the recipient of a scholarship from the "Studenica" Foundation, as well as a scholarship from the Ministry of Education, Science and Technological Development. Ilija joined NALED in 2021 as policy intern, after which he moved to the position of policy officer in 2022. Today, he is in the position of policy specialist in the Unit for Digitization, Entrepreneurship and Innovation. He speaks English.

Ivana Ristivojević completed her undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, in the Department of International Relations. During her studies, she was active in the NGO sector through volunteering and work in student organizations and other initiatives, which marked the beginning of her journey in social activism. She gained her first work experience in the private sector, where she developed skills in communication and team management, especially in customer care. Her dedication to improving service quality enabled her to acquire key competencies for further professional growth. Over two years ago, Ivana decided to continue her career in the civil sector, with the desire to contribute to positive social change. She joined the European Movement in Serbia, where she advanced in her position, honing her skills and contributing to the development of the organization. She was responsible for managing projects related to women's mentorship, regional development, and youth support, with a special focus on the personal and professional empowerment of women, as well as improving intersectoral cooperation to promote the effective development and implementation of smart specialization policies and balanced regional development in Serbia. She joined the NALED team in March 2025.

Duška Medić is an experienced administration and operations expert with over 15 years of work on international projects. She graduated in Organizational Communications from Pfeiffer University in Charlotte.Throughout her career, she has worked on projects funded by USAID, EU, and UNOPS, where she provided comprehensive management support—organizing over 100 events, trainings, and business trips, managing budgets, procurements, grants, and M&E databases, while strictly adhering to local laws and donor standards.She specializes in office management, logistics, HR support, reporting, and improving internal processes. Certified in PRINCE2 and Agile Project Management, she is fluent in English and Serbian, with basic knowledge of Spanish. Known for her proactivity, organization, and ability to work in multicultural teams. She joined the NALED team in November 2025.

Jelena graduated in English Language and Literature from the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade. She is a communications strategist with over fifteen years of experience in international development, diplomacy, and the public sector. For more than a decade, she worked with USAID and the U.S. Embassy in Belgrade, where she was responsible for designing and implementing communication strategies aimed at promoting democratic and economic development and regional cooperation. Her professional interests include media relations, digital communication, and visual storytelling, with a focus on the human dimension of development assistance. She joined the NALED team in October 2025.

Petar Slavković completed his undergraduate studies at the Faculty of Political Sciences and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Business Management with a focus on International Business at the Faculty of Economics. During his studies, he was actively involved in civil society organizations aimed at raising public awareness about current issues and potential solutions. He joined the NALED team in January 2024.

Ljubinka Mišković graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences at the University of Belgrade, majoring in Political Science. She continued her academic development with a master’s degree in Public Administration, Local Government, and Public Policy, focusing on understanding, designing, and implementing modern governance models in the public sector. She began her professional career through internships at the Protector of Citizens (Ombudsman), where she gained practical experience in the field of human rights protection and the functioning of public administration institutions. Her particular interests lie in the creation, implementation, and evaluation of public policies, as well as in improving transparency and accountability mechanisms within government institutions. She joined the NALED team in May 2025.