Seid Hassan, Ph.D.

Professor of Economics at Murray State University.

Seid earned his Ph.D.  from the Texas A&M University, MA from Texas Tech University and BA from American University in Cairo. He teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate courses in the areas of international business, the economics of corruption and anti-corruption, forecasting, mathematical economics, development, and macroeconomics.  He has published several professionally refereed articles in the areas of, inter-alia, trade liberalization on economic growth, income disparities, education, and economics of corruption and anti-corruption agencies. He also has published both in English and Amharic, several commentaries related to the Ethiopian economy, migration, economics of remittances, exchange rates and the economics of currency devaluation, effects of price controls, effects of national and external debt, effects and modalities of privatizing government owned enterprises. He was the editor of The Journal of Business and Public Affairs, from 2001 – 2010.  He is the founding member of Vision Ethiopia and has been serving in the conference committee.

Minga Negash, DEconsc

Professor of Accounting at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Minga is the coordinator of the Ph.D. program at the University of the Witwatersrand. His intellectual contributions were published in rated academic journals and is a frequent commentator on Ethiopian and African affairs.  Professor Negash is a recipient of Life Time distinguished award for Accounting education in Southern Africa and the Ernst & Young (South Africa) and the Southern African Accounting Association’s outstanding contribution to research award, the Emerald Literati Network’s highly commended award, and the Dean’s awards for Excellence in Scholarship and Excellence in Service. He is a member of the American Accounting Association and serves on the editorial boards of academic journals.  He is a founding member of FESP (formerly Vision Ethiopia) and has been serving as the its Chair of the conference committee and Vice President.

Yohannes Zelek, Ph.D.

Research Associate at the  Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C.

Yohannes is an anthropologist, an archaeologist with decades of digs in Europe, Asia and Africa. He is a Research Associate at the  Smithsonian Institute in Washington D.C. He is a licensed tour operator and was a former curator of  the National Museum of Ethiopia. He is an alumnus of the University of California at Berkeley, The Russian Academy of Sciences and St. Petersburg State University. He teaches anthropology at the American University in Washington DC. He joined the board in 2017.

Ashenafi Gossaye, PH.D.

Ashenafi earned his Ph.D. in Town and Regional Planning,  an MSc in Project Management, and BSc in Architecture and Urban Planning. Currently, he is a Capital Planning  program/Project Manager at the King County Metro in Seattle Washington. Prior to moving to King County, he worked as a Housing Developer and Assistant construction manager at the Seattle Housing authority. He was a Fulbright Fellow (Senior Researcher) and Adjunct Faculty at the University of Washington (UW), and an Associate Professor, Department Head and Associate Dean at the Addis Ababa University. He is a founding member and and has been serving as Secretary General of FESP (formerly Vision Ethiopia) since 2014.

Alemseged Beldados, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Archaeobotany, Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia. Formerly Academic Vice-President, Jinka University, South Ethiopia 

Zelalem Tefera, Ph.D.

Associate Professor of Sociology at the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, Addis Ababa University. He was also Deputy Manager of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies’ ethnographic museum.

Dr. Abate Getahun

Associate Professor, Applied Linguistics and Communication and the former President of Wollo University. 

Dr. Ahmed Hassan

Associate Professor of History, Former Director of the Institute of Ethiopian Studies, and Director of External Relations, Addis Ababa University.