I have diploma in Sanitary Sciences, BSc. Degree in Environmental Health, Master’s Degree in Public Health (MPH) and PhD in Environmental Communication. I served for seven years in the Ministry of Health of Ethiopia as District Environmental Health and Health Education Coordinator on a wide range of public health issues. I have also been working for more than 15 years in public interest civil society organizations sector from project officer and program coordinator position to the level where I am now working as the Executive Director of PAN-Ethiopia. Together with my team in PAN-Ethiopia, I pioneer agro-ecology initiative that models organic alternatives to eliminate highly hazardous pesticide use in cotton cultivation.
At the international level, I am the Co-Chair of the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN), the network of over 500 public interest environmental health NGOs in more than 125 countries united to eradicate the world’s most harmful substances for a toxics-free future for all. I am also a member of the board of directors to the International Environmental Communication Association (IECA) and a member of the advisory board for the International Sustainable Chemistry Collaborative Center (ISC3).