It’s never too early to start contributing, says alum

In the spring of 1999, the seeds of giving found fertile soil in Gary Kalaci.

That was when the impressionable, 16-year-old Albanian witnessed first-hand 600,000 refugees flood into his tiny homeland in their quest for safety during the Kosovo War.

“The need to help was very apparent and I joined to contribute in any way I could,” says Kalaci BSc 2005, LLB 2009, MBA 2009. “You begin to understand how your help can affect someone’s life.”

Using his gift for languages, Kalaci offered to translate for foreign aid workers as they struggled to feed and provide medical services to the thousands of hungry, frightened and injured refugees.

Today, his talent for language and desire to volunteer still serve as the building blocks of his professional and personal interests.

Kalaci is the CEO and co-founder of Alexa Translations, a company that provides translation services in more than 100 languages with offices in three countries. He is also a lawyer and a mediator and despite the competing pressures of his two careers, his unwavering commitment to community service is admirable for its sheer scope.

Just 28 years old, this University of Windsor graduate has already drawn national attention for his community work. In 2009, he was the first-ever recipient of the prestigious Thérèse Casgrain Volunteer Award – Youth Category, given by the Government of Canada Department of Human Resources and Skills Management.

The citation noted Kalaci’s enthusiastic fundraising for community organizations such as the United Way, the AIDS Committee of Windsor, and the Children’s Miracle Network: “Despite his young age, Mr. Kalaci knows no bounds when it comes to volunteerism and being active in his community,” the citation read.

What drives this personable, articulate young man?

“In terms of my not-for-profit contributions, it truly is something that I am very passionate about and that I’ve always done. I don’t feel comfortable not doing it. On the business end, I came here as an immigrant for more opportunity. It only makes sense to take full advantage of opportunities and make the most out of them.”

Kalaci moved to Windsor from Albania with his family when he was 17. “I was very fortunate because I already spoke English which made the transition easier, but there was still a lot to learn.”

When he applied to UWindsor’s Faculty of Science, he earned the University’s most prestigious financial award, the $20,000 Ron W. Ianni Entrance Scholarship for having at least a 95 percent entrance average, showing leadership, and school and community involvement.

Kalaci enrolled in the Chemistry & Biochemistry program, with an eye on a career in the health sciences. “I was considering a career in the health field but I began to realize early on in my undergraduate studies that I was very business oriented.”

Certified as a translator in Albanian and Italian with very passable French, Greek, and Spanish, he used $8,000 of his own money to start Kalaci Translations in 2002, while still in school. By 2003, Kalaci had built a network of translators with the ability to offer services in a wide range of languages.

In 2005, he had earned his general Bachelor of Science degree and entered the MBA/LLB program that combines business and law.

Even during this demanding program, community work was never far from Kalaci’s mind. In 2007, he successfully lobbied UWindsor president Ross Paul and Dean of Business Allan Conway for funds to travel to South Africa to investigate the viability of an outreach project aimed at improving the lives of youth and vulnerable communities.

Conway recalls that first meeting: “Gary set up his first meeting with me one month after I arrived at the University in my new position. In that meeting, and in every other one we have had over the years, he exuded energy and enthusiasm for an important and far-reaching idea. What is most important is that he has sustained that commitment through all of the stages required to have his idea become reality. This latter characteristic is the litmus test for true leadership.”

When Kalaci arrived in Cape Town, the level of poverty moved him deeply:

“You rarely see adequate housing... mostly they are metal sheets over wooden boards; anything to have shelter. These dwellings would stretch for as far as you could see. It is an image that really gets to you and its effect is long lasting.”

In response, Kalaci launched the Golden Future Project as an outreach program between the University of Windsor and the University of Cape Town. The first group of UWindsor business and law students journeyed to Cape Town in May 2008. They worked with the local high school of Usasazo within the settlement of Khayelitsha and volunteered at local mobile health clinics. They also prepared materials and developed lesson plans for various health awareness and life skills workshops.

“The goal is to raise HIV/AIDS and STI awareness, foster life skills, build micro- enterprise initiatives, assist with educational inquiries and empower youth,” says Kalaci.

Each year since, an even larger group has returned to South Africa to continue the work. The long-term plan is for the project to expand to other South African cities, and even other countries.

Kalaci journeyed back to South Africa this past May but says he is stepping away from the day-to-day operations of the Golden Future project: “This year, I am moving more into an advisory and growth strategy role. It is important for the continuity of the project that a legacy plan is in place,” he explains. His brother, Odion BSc 2011, served as chair for 2010/11.

His professional goals remain firmly in his sights. He finished articling in the summer of 2010, and was called to the bar. He has elected, however, to focus on Alexa Translations, the translation company he co-founded in 2009 with UWindsor alumni Michael Kaye MBA 2008 and Roy Sharda BComm 1997.

“We want to make it an international company with a much larger client base, and a greater presence in more countries,” he says. Alexa currently has offices in Canada, the United States and South Africa with ambitions of continued international expansion. 

Kalaci has little spare time and squeezes something valuable out of every moment. This past summer he taught an MBA-level course at UWindsor and organized a Detroit, Mich., seminar to promote cross-border business.

In between, he feeds his passions for travel, history, anthropology and classical dancing. He is a certified dance instructor and predictably, donates the proceeds to charity.

Paying it forward is very important to the Albanian immigrant who has so successfully combined his intellect, empathy and determination to benefit
the greater good.

“It’s never too early to start contributing to those less fortunate than you,” says Kalaci. “That’s always been my motto.”