Engineer Negede Gedamu

Though Engineer Negede Gedamu has spent the greater part of 50 years in the United States, his heart and mind has always taken him back to Ethiopia. An agricultural engineer by training and education, he has sought out and adapted best practices from the US that could be applied to the largely agrarian society in Ethiopia. He has advised on a myriad of development initiatives to bring clean water to rural Ethiopians, improve crop yield, and develop integrated farming practices. Engineer Negede has worked to establish, along with his wife, the first black-owned environmental laboratory in the United States, making history in both the Ethiopian and American communities.

His dedication to maintaining the legacy that was passed down to him from generations before is unceasing. He has traveled to various regions seeking to support and preserve ancient texts and the monasteries that house them and currently serves as “Ende Rase” (representative spokesman) for MerhaYesus Gedam, the second of three monasteries established by St. Frumentius in the 4th Century.

Woyz. Alemnesh Abebe

As a Chemist and Microbiologist, Woyzero Alemnesh Abebe has dedicated the greater part of the past 35 years to maintaining the health of humanity and the environment. As the first Ethiopian woman to own and operate an environmental laboratory in the United States, she has not only committed her talents in service to those in the United States, but has both spearheaded and advised on several development projects in Ethiopia at their design, development and implementation stages.

Woyzero Alemnesh Abebe remains connected both directly and indirectly to several monasteries and stewards of Ethiopian artifacts in Ethiopia, doing her best to assist them in their aim to honor their responsibilities to the church and church community.

Kesis Ashenafi Wake Duga

Kesis Ashenafi Wake Duga was raised in the monasteries of “Zeway Hamerebirhan Kidus Gebriel Gedam Enna Yekinat Siltegna” where he studied in-depth the theological foundation of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church and church protocols dating back to First-Temple Judaic times. He continued his monastic education at Holy Trinity Theological University for five years after which he served as Vice-Secretary General of Besrate Gebriel Church in Addis Ababa Ethiopia. He was invited by St. Michael Church in Washington, DC to serve as a Deacon and Sunday School Teacher. Kesis Ashenafi now travels throughout the churches as a priests providing guidance and hope to his congregation.

Kesis Ashenafi Wake Duga was the founder and former Executive Committee Member of the EOTC Clergy Association of the United States. He is a gifted talent and writer who has dedicated his talents to the upliftment of Ethiopia and preservation of peace among fellow men.

Ms. Amaretch Tademe

An independent thinker, a philanthropist, who has worked to promote art & humanity in Ethiopia the past 20+ years. Ms. Amaretch Tademe donated her home, and helped transform it to a cultural center so that it could promote the 80+ beautiful diverse cultures within Ethiopia. She believes that the way to minimize distrust is to learn one another’s culture. With that understanding her hope for Ethiopia is that Ethiopians can build on the tradition of unity and respect from which trust would naturally follow. Ms. Amaretch Tademe continues her focus on helping other as a financial strategist & a Certified Financial Trainer.

Her goal is to use her talents to help people secure their future both spiritually and financially.

Dr. Nahom Beyene

Nahom Minassie Beyene, Ph.D. is a research engineer at the RAND Corporation and former aerospace engineer with the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, TX. As a native Texan, Nahom was among the first American-born children in the Dallas Ethiopian Community and grew up in the backdrop of many pioneering efforts including the first Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church (EOTC) in Dallas. In his early teens, Nahom was invited to serve the church and ordained as a deacon by His Holiness Abune Paulos (God rest his soul) at Dallas Debre Meheret Saint Michael EOTC. The Ethiopian communities in the Diaspora have always been a core interest and source of pride for him, which led to his discovery of an Ethiopian Students Association during college. In 2001, Nahom became the first elected president of what became known as the Ethiopian Students Association International, and he concurrently worked throughout the state of Texas to coordinate the Ethiopian Students Association of Texas. During his time in Houston, Nahom served a term as Secretary for the Ethiopian Community Organization of Houston. He was also a supporting teacher to a Sunday school class for teens and young adults at Debre Selam Medhanealem EOTC. Today, Nahom resides in Pittsburgh, PA where the Ethiopian community is working to establish the first EOTC for the city, Menbere Tsebaot Kedist Selassie EOTC.

Builder Tsegadawit Mitiku

Tsegadawit Mitiku is a skilled Oilfield Frac Hand and builder who has committed his talents as a builder to Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido churches and faith-based educational institutions across the United States and Ethiopia. He has coordinated massive restoration and construction projects with strict adherence to church protocols, including the detailed construction of “Bete Mekdes” woodwork and iconography, and baptismal alters. He has designed elaborate landscaping, prayer gardens and aesthetic projects for both the interior and exterior of church grounds. He has restored school facilities and offices for students and clergy and has advised on the new construction of religious mausoleums, museums and prayer rooms in Ethiopia.

As a devout member of St. Mary’s Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahido Church in Washington, DC, builder, Tsegadawit Mitiku has refined his knowledge of church protocol in construction and restoration of places of worship within the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition.