Board Members
Advisors
Members
Ato Lakew Birhanu
E-mail: lakew.berhanu@gmail.com
Tell: 0911255555
Prof. Masrehsa Fetene
E-mail: masresha.fetene@aau.edu.et
Tell: 0935987641
Dr. Mellese Damtie
E-mail: mellesedamtie@gmail.com
Tell: 0911171687
Dr. Mekbeb Eshetu Tessema
E-mail: mekbebt@gmail.com
Tell: 0935346611
Ato Mengistu Wondafrash
E-mail: wondafrash.mj61@gmail.com
Tell: 0911242369
Prof. Sebsebe Demissew
E-mail: sebseb.demissew@gmail.com
Tell: 0911247616
Dr. Zelealem Tefera
Dr. Paul Scholte
E-mail: pault.scholte@gmail.com
Tell: +251-978-700221
+316-268-30753
Ato Endashaw Mogessie Tiruneh
E-mail: endumog78@yahoo.com
Tell: +251-901-425343
Prof. Claudio Sillero-Zubiri
E-mail: claudio.sillero@biology.ox.ac.uk
Tell: +44 1865 611113
Ato Abdurahman Kubsa
E-mail: akubsa@ymail.com
Tell: 0968149413
Dr. Almaz Tadesse
E-mail: akubsa@ymail.com
Tell: 0968149413
Dr. Asefa Mebrate
E-mail: assefamebrate@gmail.com
Tell: 0911234049
Ato Leykun Abunie
E-mail: leykunabunie51@gmail.com
Tell: 0913120264
Ato Yilma Delellegn
E-mail: ornithopia1@gmail.com
Tell: 0911400636
Dr. Yirmed Demeke
E-mail: yirmed.demeke@gmail.com
yirmed.demeke@yahoo.com
Tell: 0968149413
Ato Yoseph Getenet
E-mail:
Tell: +251-911-201225
Dr. Simeneh Admasu
E-mail: simeneha2009@gmail.com
Tell: +251-912-241024
Dr. Temesegen Dingamo
E-mail: temesgendingamo@yahoo.com
Tell: +251-966-894271
Dr. Girma Eshete
E-mail: girmaeshetegenbere@gmail.com
Tel: +251-921523255
Ato Chemere Zewdie
E-mail: nchemere@gmail.com
Tel: +251-911071588
Dr. Bezawork Afework
E-mail:teabbe@yahoo.com
Tel: +251 911 110990
Dr. Taye Teferi
E-mail: tteferi1@gmail.com;
TTeferi@wwfafrica.org
Tel: +254723786182
Dr. Bethlehem Abebe
E-mail: bethyabebe@gmail.com
Dr. Fikirte Gebresenbet
E-mail: kememgst@gmail.com
Ato Solomon Worku
E-mail:somwors@gmail.com
Tel: +251 9119 911 992
Prof. Sebsebe Demissew
Prof. Sebsebe Demissew holds the position of Professor of Plant Ecology within the Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management at the College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University. For over 40 years, he has been actively engaged in the pedagogical process and the training of postgraduate students, focusing on the domains of biodiversity, ethnobotany, ecology, and systematics. Prof. Sebsebe Demissew has successfully mentored numerous master's and doctoral candidates and has authored 7 books alongside over 250 scholarly articles in the disciplines of plant ecology and environmental science. He is affiliated with a multitude of professional working groups, panels, associations, and academies, including his status as a Foreign Member of the Royal Society, an Elected Bureau Member for the period 2019-2023 for the Intergovernmental Panel for Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES), an Elected Fellow of the Third World Academy of Sciences (TWAS) since 2012, a Fellow and Board Member of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences since April 2010 (Board Member from 2010 to 2017), a Member of the Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters since April 10, 2008, an Honorary Research Fellow of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, UK since December 2002, and a Member of the Biological Society of Ethiopia since 1990, having served as its President from 1996 to 2000. Furthermore, Prof. Sebsebe Demissew has been the recipient of numerous honors, including the Linnean Society Medal for Botany in 2022, the José Cuatrecasas Medal for Excellence in Tropical Botany in 2021, the “Prof. Luigi Tartufari” International Prize for Biological Science in 2020, and the Kew International Medal awarded in October 2016. At present, he serves as the chair of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Think Tank.
Ato Mengistu Wondafrash
Since March 1, 2009, Mengistu Wondafrash is the Executive Director (ED) of the Ethiopian Wildlife and Natural History Society (EWNHS), the BirdLife Partner in Ethiopia. Before he was recruited as ED, he has served in the same organization at different capacities for more than 14 years. During his tenure within EWNHS, he has served for about three years both as Vice Chair and Chair of the Council of BirdLife Africa Partnership (CAP) and a member of the BirdLife Africa Regional Council (ARC). Accordingly, he is versatile in all the BirdLife operational procedures and the dynamics of the partnership works. Prior to joining EWNHS, he has served in different capacities in the Ministry of Natural Resources, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Health and Wondo Genet College of Forestry as lecturer. He originally trained as biologist at the Addis Ababa University (Science Faculty) and received his MSc in Environment and Development from the Reading University in UK. Furthermore, he has been awarded with over 40 Credentials as evidence of undertaking practical training on multifarious disciplines and skills. Due to his dedication to conservation, Mengistu has been the winner of 1) the Eastern Africa Environmental Network (EAEN) Environmental Leadership Award of year 2003 in recognition and appreciation of outstanding contributions to Environmental Conservation in Eastern Africa and 2) the prestigious Biodiversity Leadership Award from the Bay and Paul Foundations based in New York in 2004. Mengistu is one of the founders of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Think Tank, and currently, serving as vice board chair of the think tank. He is married and have two grown up children, with bachelor degrees.
Dr. Mekebib Eshetu Tessema
Dr. Mekbeb is a seasoned conservation social scientist and natural resource expert with over 25 years of experience in conservation of important biodiversity areas. He worked with local communities and key stakeholders in East Africa, the Middle East and the US. His experience includes 3 years on USAID project community related work in South Sudan. He oversaw community conservation project implementation, monitoring and evaluation in remote and volatile environments in east Africa. He is highly experienced in conservation projects management, conducting applied research, professional networking, public speaking, and teaching in higher education institutions in East Africa and the US. Dr. Mekbeb earned graduate degrees from the UK and US universities and has specialized in Conservation Biology (MSc.), and Human Dimensions of Ecosystem Management (PhD). He is drawn to human and environment interaction, conflict management in natural resources, wildlife crime, natural resource use and dependency, climate change impacts on protected areas and local livelihoods, nature-based tourism, environmental governance, environmental attitudes and behavior, rural livelihoods security and sustainability in biodiversity conservation. Dr. Mekbeb is one of the founding members of the Think Tank and currently serves as Director.
Prof. Masresha Fetene
Prof. Masresha Fetene is an Emeritus Professor of Plant Ecophysiology at Department of Plant Biology and Biodiversity Management, College of Natural and Computational Sciences, Addis Ababa University. He is the Co-President of the InterAcademy Partnership (IAP), the global network of 150 academies of science, engineering, and medicine worldwide. He served Addis Ababa University as Vice President for Research and Technology Transfer and as Director of AAU Press. Prof Masresha is a Fellow of the African Academy of Sciences and a Founding Fellow of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences. He spearheaded the establishment of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences, beginning with the suggestion to create the Academy and organizing the many meetings and conferences that ended in the establishment of the Academy in 2010. Prof Masresha became Executive Director of the Ethiopian Academy of Sciences from 2014 to 2020. Prof Masresha Fetene has trained several masters and PhD students and is published in the fields of plant physiology, ecophysiology, ecology, and environmental science. Prof. Masresha is founding and a board member of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Think Tank and currently serves as the board member.
Dr. Bezawork Afework
Bezawork Afework Bogale (Ph.D.) is an Associate Professor of Animal ecology and behavior at Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. She received her Bachelor degree from Dilla University in Biology (2000) and MSc degree in Zoology from Addis Ababa University (2005). She received her PhD Degree in Biological Sciences (Avian Behavior and Ecology) from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Japan (2014). She continued her Post doctoral research through the Japan Society for Promotion of Science (JSPS) for two years until 2014 in Utsunomiya University, Japan. Dr Bezawork has been working as a lecturer and assistant professor at Hawassa University (2005-2014) and later as associate professor from 2015 at Addis Ababa University. She has taught different courses related to animal ecology, behavior and wildlife management to both undergraduate and graduate students. She also has advised several graduate students in zoology with research themes in avian ecology and behavior, anuran diversity and mammalian behavior and published several articles at reputable journals. In addition, she has served as the Director of the Zoological Natural History Museum of Addis Ababa University and currently she is the Chairperson of the Department of Zoological Sciences and the President of the Biological Society of Ethiopia. Dr. Bezawork is currently serving as board member of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Think Tank
Dr. Zelealem Tefera
Obtained PhD after studying the ecology and behavior of the Ethiopian wolf, from the Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE), the University of Kent in UK. Dr. Zelealem has 25+ years of experience in leading and managing conservation projects. He is interested in endangered species conservation, protected area management, payment for ecosystem services and protected area planning with experience gained by working across various ecosystems. Actively involved in protected area management, teaching at various universities, long time working for conservation NGOs, Government Agencies and International Organisations. Actively working on the development of community-based conservation, rural development initiatives, climate change, climate resilience and various forms of tourism developments. Extensive experience on biodiversity conservation, policies and practices development for national and international conservation organisations on areas of community engagement in conservation, ecotourism, policy, climate adaptation, governance, resilience and nature-based solutions. Demonstrated understanding of sustainable development, including financial and institutional sustainability. Drive for Results takes personal responsibility and accountability to meet deadlines and achieve agreed-upon results, and has the personal organization to do so. Dr. Zelealem is one of the founding members of the Think Tank and currently serving as board member.
Ato Lakew Berhanu
Lakew Berhanu is a Conservation Biologist [MSc] by profession. He obtained his degree from the University of Kent in the United Kingdom. He started his career in biodiversity conservation after joining the then-Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Organization (EWCO). He served the sector for more than 25 years in different capacities from field expert to managing different national and international projects. Some of the projects include the reintroduction of the Lammergeyer or Bearded Vulture bird to Kenya, the National Project Coordinator for the UNDP-GEF Project, etc. Later he left the government and joined the GIZ-IS, GIZ, and GFA and served in different management capacities including National Project Coordinator, Deputy Program Manager, and Project Team Leader, respectively. In collaboration with other colleagues, Ato Lakew was instrumental in raising substantial funds for biodiversity conservation in Ethiopia. Lakew is a member of different professional associations including IUCN, the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Think-Tank, where he is currently serving as board member, etc. Ato Lakew has also represented Ethiopia in various national and international meetings and conferences.
Ato Endashaw Mogessie
Coming with a 23 years experience, Ato Endashaw Mogessie is a Certified professional in Advanced Leadership from Jönköping University. He has MSc degree in Environmental Science and is a Specialist in Environmental Science with focus on Natural Resources Management, program design, Forest Management, Community Mobilization, Governance, Multi-stakeholder engagement, Leadership, monitoring and evaluation. Ato Endashaw has been involved in a number of program development and implementation in Natural Resources management, Forest Management, resilience and community engagement in Ethiopia for more than 24 years. He has managed and engaged in the Eco-regional project implemented in the South-eastern Part of Ethiopia. Ato Endashaw has been engaged in the study on eco-hydrology approaches and development of pilot program in the Baro Ako Basin. In addition, he has coordinated different monitoring and evaluation, and impact assessment activities. He as been also engaged in the different national, regional and global platforms including and advocacy works such as the Conference of parties, Regional PHE Networks, and Global CSOs Accountability Standards. He has been serving as board chairs and members to National and International Organization/Alliances, as IUCN commission members (two) and National Level Platforms. He is currently serving as a board member of the Think Tank.
Dr. Mellese Damtie
Dr. Mellese Damtie is an associate professor of law at School of Law of Addis Ababa University. He received his bachelor’s degree in Biology from the Faculty of Science and LLB from Faculty of Law, AAU. He also received his LLM from Amsterdam University, the Netherlands, and his PhD Degree from the University of Warwick, UK. Dr. Mellese Damtie has over 28 years of experience as practitioner, researcher, educator, leader and consultant. He has 15 publications in the form of books (two solo authored books), journal articles and book chapters. Moreover, he published several teaching materials on Environmental Law and other subjects and workshop proceedings. Dr. Mellese Damtie has extensive experiences at the grassroots level with local communities regarding the community ecological governance, sustainable livelihoods, ecological and organic agriculture and food sovereignty initiatives. He is also a passionate promoter and advocate of environmental protection and environmental ethics with special reference to Earth justice. He served as a trainer on over 80 occasions, on various topics such as EIA, Laws of Natural Resources and the Environment, Climate Change, Biodiversity, Wildlife, Wetlands, Agriculture and Seed Laws. Dr. Mellese also engaged in training and short course provision in the UK, Kenya, Uganda and Ghana on Earth Jurisprudence or EarthJustice, Climate Change, Biodiversity and Community Ecological Governance. Dr. Mellese is a member of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Think Tank and currently serves as a legal advisor of the board.
Dr. Paul Scholte
Dr. Paul is an ecologist, who has been leading Conservation and Natural Resource Management organisations in a development context. He has 35 years’ experience in protected area- and rangeland management, governance, rural development, and biodiversity surveys, about which he authored some 150 publications. He has been employed by Governmental- (Rwandan, Dutch), bilateral cooperation- (GIZ, DGIS), UN-, Non-Governmental- (IUCN, WWF) and private organizations, developing distinctive leadership, technical and administrative skills. Dr. Paul has been teaching at the Garoua and Kitabi wildlife colleges (Cameroon, Rwanda) and various universities across Africa and in Europe. Presently, he is visiting professor and chair-holder in Ecological Monitoring and Conflict Management at the postgraduate school ERAIFT-UNESCO (DRC). His interventions are based on first-hand knowledge of international cooperation- and financing mechanisms, and consensus building a.o. through membership of IUCN-SSC/CEM/WCPA, advisory councils and boards. Dr. Paul is a member of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Think Tank, plays a big role in advising and liaising the think tank to international conservation and donor communities.
Prof. Claudio Sillero-Zubiri
Professor Claudio is a conservation biologist dedicated to the study and conservation of threatened mammalian species, impacts of disease, mitigation of people-wildlife conflict, protected areas management, transfrontier conservation and the role of professional networks in conservation. Prof. Claudio first arrived in Ethiopia in 1987 and trekked extensively in the Bale Mountains, where in early 1988 he started to work as a Research Fellow of the New York Zoological Society implementing the Bale Mountains Research Project. He has Forty years’ experience working with NGOs, host country governments and international organizations on biodiversity assessments and conservation policies and practices, particularly in Ethiopia, Kenya, Senegal, Mozambique, Niger, India, Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru and Costa Rica. He is also the Founder and Director of the Ethiopian Wolf Conservation Programme, for which he received the Whitley Award for Animal Conservation from the Royal Geographical Society in 1998. He holds external appointments include Biodiversity Adviser for the Inter-American Development Bank, IUCN SOS Scientific Technical Advisory Group and Chair of the IUCN SSC Canid Specialist Group. Prof. Claudio is a member of the Ethiopian Wildlife Conservation Think Tank and currently serves as technical advisor of the board.