Leadership
Enawgaw Mehari, MD
President/Founder
Dr. Enawgaw Mehari has a distinguished reputation for leadership in healthcare, most notably as founder and president of People to People, Inc., which has been in existence for approximately twenty-five years. He is also internationally recognized as an expert in neurology, pain management, and Neuro-AIDs. He earned his medical degree from Comenius University in Czechoslovakia, completed his neurology residency at the University of Kentucky, finished his fellowship in pain management and neurophysiology at Case Western University in Cleveland, and completed a fellowship at Washington University in St. Louis, in Neuro-AIDs. Enawgaw has published in refereed journals, book chapters, Triangular Partnership the power of the diaspora ( book ), Introduction to Clinical Neurology and Manual of Ethiopian Medical History.
Dr. Mehari through his p2p leadership has been instrumental in the establishment of Neurology residency program, Emergency Medicine Residency program at Black Lion Hospital, and Social Work Master /PhD program at AAU.
In 2005, He founded the People's’ Free Clinic in Morehead, Kentucky, to provide free healthcare for the working poor.
In 2006, Dr. Mehari won a distinguished service award from the Society of Ethiopians Established in the Diaspora (SEED), and in 2007, he was nominated as a CNN Hero— awarded by the cable network to everyday people around the globe who have made a major impact in the world. In addition, he was awarded a Humanitarian Award by the Black Hall of Fame, and the 2010 Patient Advocate award by the American Academy of Neurology.
He has been granted the highest commendation by the Kentucky Governor’s office, Senate of the State of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. He has been commended by the US House of Congress and was awarded the Abebe Bikila Award by Bikila Organization for his working community service.
Dr. Mehari is a diplomat of the American Board of Psychiatry, a diplomate of Neurology, Inc., and a member of the American Board of Medical Specialties. He is an adjunct Clinical Professor of Neurology at Meharry School of Medicine, PikeVille University, AAU and Bahir Dar University. His other engagements include chairman of the diaspora health care and higher education advisory council, and founding member and board director for both ARTS TV and Arif Pay Financial Institute.
Joseph Bogale
IT DIRECTOR
Teddy Gessesse
IT OFFICER
Zelalem Attlee, MD, PhD
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Zelalem Attlee is a Medical Doctor from Addis Ababa University-GCMS, with an additional Master's in Healthcare Management (USA) and Doctorate in public health (USA). Dr. Zelalem has a diverse experience in organizational leadership, business development, fundraising, health systems strengthening, epidemiology, advocacy, policy, health care management and public health programs leadership, grants management, providing technical support, consultation, training and research. Dr. Zelalem has extensive international experience in leading and managing large-scale bilateral and non-governmental agency programs funded by USAID, CDC, UN bodies and private foundations in public health programs such as reproductive health, Family planning, MNCH, HIV and AIDS, infectious diseases and non-communicable diseases. He led multimillion-dollar funded programs in sub-Saharan Africa and conducted STTAs in Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, USA, and France in the last 31 years. Currently, he consults on COVID-19 prevention in the US and works as a CEO of P2P-USA.
Abraham Betre, MD
CHIEF OPERATIONS OFFICER
Dr. Abraham N. Betre is a board-certified Obstetrician and Gynecologist in Tulare, California and is affiliated with multiple hospitals in the area. He received his medical degree from NYIT College Of Osteopathic Medicine and has been in practice for more than 20 years. He completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology and served as an Administrative chief resident at Lincoln Medical and Mental Health center, affiliated with Cornell University Medical Center in New York.
Dr. Abraham is also the founder of Dr. Abraham Betre D.O. INC. and COO of P2P.
Kebede H. Begna, M.D., Msc.
Executive Vice President
Dr. Kebede H. Begna an associate professor and consultant hematologist, practicing at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. He received his medical degree from Gondar University in Ethiopia. He finished internal medicine residency at St. Vincent Medical College, an affiliate of New York Medical College, where he was the Chief Resident. He completed hematology and medical oncology fellowship and obtained master’s in clinical research at the University of Minnesota, and later joined the Mayo Clinic, Division of Hematology in Rochester, Minnesota. He authored and co-authored many publications and book chapter. He was on the board of Ethio-American Doctors Group, Inc. Currently serve as Vice-president of Medical education of P2P, co-director of Global bridges Oncology at the Mayo Clinic
Adey Hailu, MA, MSc
DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS HOA AFFAIRS
Adey Hailu is the People to People Inc. United Nations representative in New York. As an experienced, in-person and virtual conference producer and events curator, she helps People to People host various virtual and in person gatherings including the Horn of Africa Policy Panel series (HAPP) and various virtual conferences.
Adey is the founder of African Symposium, a company that works with businesses, governments, and non-profit organizations to develop substantial and targeted events internationally and in various sectors including presidential events and diaspora focused conferences. African Symposium’s events are designed to bring together the African diaspora and those interested in Africa to network and drive investment to the continent. African Symposium also produces the New York based Annual Wildlife Conservation in Africa conference (WCA), an interactive convening of experts, diplomats, activists and compassionate citizens, to discuss wildlife conservation, climate change and sustainable development.
Adey’s academic achievements include an MA in International Affairs and an M.S. in Management of Non-Profit Organizations. As a person who speaks 4 languages, her interest in languages is deeply rooted along with her interest in history and curiosity about different cultures with a vision to build a common bridge.
People to People, Special Advisor to the President & UN Representative (International NGO)
Lekidelu Tadesse, MD
VP OF ACCREDITATION
Lekidelu Taddesse, MD is an Associate Professor of Pathology and Director of Hematopathology at Howard University College of Medicine and Howard University Hospital, Washington, DC. Dr. Leki is an academic educator, provides pathology
diagnostic services and serves in several leadership roles. Dr. Leki’s passion is in education and mentoring and implementing quality systems.
Dr. Leki has volunteered in various capacity in Ethiopia. She provided technical assistance to the HIV Laboratory at the Ethiopian Health and Nutrition Research Institution (EHNRI) implementing laboratory quality assurance systems. She provided resources for the Department of Pathology, Addis Ababa University School of Medicine.
She led Howard University medical students’ global health experience trips to Gondar University Hospital for many years. She provides pathology lectures to medical students and pathology residents and supports pathology diagnostic services through capacity building and consultations to the Department of Pathology at Gondar University. She is currently leading an Accreditation Collaboration Task Force, a joint effort between the key accrediting institutions and medical schools in Ethiopia as part of a triangular partnership fostered by People to People Inc.to provide assistance for accreditation processes of medical schools.
Dr. Taddesse-Heath has also published several articles and serves on national committees including Liaison Committee for Medical Education (LCME) as a medical school inspection team member and is a member of the United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) Test Material Development Committee and quality review committees of the National Board of
Medicine (NBME). In recognition of her excellence in teaching, compassionate mentorship, and role model, she received over thirty outstanding teaching awards and was the honored faculty by twelve graduating medical classes at Howard University College of Medicine. For her academic achievement and excellence in mentorship, she was inducted to the national
Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society and the national Gold humanism Honor Society.
Mr. Israel Mekonnen
DIRECTOR OF FINANCE/COMPLIANCE
Woodneh Mulugeta, MD
DIRECTOR OF FACULTY/ STAFF DEVELOPMENT
Addis Aemiro, MSc
DIRECTOR OF EDUCATION
Board of Directors
Anteneh Habte, MD
Chair
r. Anteneh Habte is the Chairman of People to People’s (P2P) Board of Directors. He is Section Chief in the Geriatrics & Long-Term Care Department at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Martinsburg, WV and clinical faculty at both the West Virginia School of Medicine and the Lewisburg School of Osteopathic Medicine. Dr. Anteneh is a diplomat of the American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine, and a certified educator of palliative and end-of-life care (EPEC). He coordinates People to People (P2P)’s effort to promote the training of medical personnel and provision of clinical services in hospice and palliative care in Ethiopia. Dr. Anteneh is one of the editors of a series of web-based modules in Hospice and Palliative Care for Ethiopia prepared under the auspices of the Mayo Clinic Global HIV Initiative. He is also a contributor to P2P’s recently published “Triangular Partnership” manuscript.
Solomon Harrar, Phd
Solomon Harrar is a Professor of Statistics at the University of Kentucky, USA. He conducts methodological research for analyzing high-dimensional data. He has extensively published in peer-reviewed journals. He routinely collaborates with scientists around the globe and has held guest professor and scientist positions at Charité University of Medicine (Germany), Padova University (Italy), Salzburg University (Austria), East China Normal University (China) and Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia). Dr. Harrar has received several awards and recognitions for his distinguished teaching, research, and professional services. He is serving as Associate Editors of the Journal of Multivariate Analysis, the Journal of Applied Statistics and Biometrical Journal.
Professor Demissie Alemayehu
Board Member
Professor Demissie Alemayehu is a board member of P2P. He is Faculty Director of Graduate Studies for the M.A. Program in the Statistics Department at Columbia University. In addition, Professor Demissie has over 25 years of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical industry. He has held important offices at key professional societies, and has been on editorial boards of major journals. He has served on the advisory boards of several academic institutions, including Business Analytics at Steven Institute of Technology and the RUSIS programs at Oregon State and Indiana Universities. He is an elected Fellow of the American Statistical Association, and holds a Ph.D. degree in Statistics from the University of California at Berkeley. He has published extensively on pertinent statistical topics in refereed journals, and his current areas of focus include precision medicine, Big Data analytics, and health technology assessment.
Ms. Mahlet Tsegaye
MD SECRETARY
Ms. Mahlet Tsegaye is the Director of Executive Search and Evaluation at The City University of New York. She holds a BA in English Language and Literature from Addis Ababa University, and an MA in Communications from Hunter College, New York.
Dimitri Misailidis, MD
Dr. Dimitri Misailidis is a diagnostic radiologist in private practice since 1989 to current in Martinsburg, WV at the WV Medicine Berkeley Medical Center. He is a clinical associate professor at the West Virginia School of Medicine. His primary interest is Mammography and Nuclear Medicine. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Radiology and is currently a member of the American College of Radiology and the Radiological Society of North America. He has done 2 years of undergraduate studies at Addis Ababa University prior to his medical school at the Aristotelian University in Salonica, Greece. His Radiology Residency was done at Howard University Hospital
Yoseph Bogale
BOARD MEMBER
Yoseph Bogale is a Senior Software Developer and Team Lead with several years of experience in software development. He holds a Computer Science degree from University of Kentucky, has several certifications that include AWS Cloud Practitioner and Cloud Solution Architect.
Yoseph is employed by Churchill Downs Technologies and responsible guiding and leading a team of software developers to deliver highly available and fault tolerant software for key segment of the company. Currently Yoseph’s two main focus of software includes architecting cloud-based software systems and building and maintaing iOS apps.
His attention to details, deep knowledge of software development cycle and his ability to work well with others allowed him to continue grow his career as top software developer in his company.
Ergeba Shifaraw, MD
Dr. Ergeba Sheferaw, is a board certified radiologist at Advanced Radiology in Baltimore, MD. She specializes in breast imaging and was fellowship trained at Johns Hopkins University Hospital. She completed her radiology residency at Bronx Lebanon Hospital, in Bronx, NY. She earned her medical degree and masters of public health from University of North Carolina- Chapel Hill.
Alitash Kebede
VP OF ACCREDITATION
Alitash Kebede represents the work of African, African American and African diaspora artists. She opened her first gallery, in Los Angeles, in 1994 after working as a private dealer for 10 years. The gallery earned a reputation for being a source for first-time and seasoned art collectors, as well as for being a supporter of artists working in a variety of media. At the gallery. Kebede presented the first solo exhibitions in Los Angeles of numerous artists including, the pioneer Ethiopian artist, Skunder Boghossian (1937 - 2003) and numerous other artists from the United States and beyond. Kebede's past and present clients include, Kaiser Permanente, 20th Century Studios, Broadway Federal Bank, Burrell Communications, and U.S. State Department Art in Embassies (AIE) Program, among other private and corporate entities. In 2020 Kebede was named among "The Top Five Black Women You Should Know in the Art World" by Fortune Magazine. She is involved with a number of nonprofits, including Early Childhood Education Ethiopia, Watts Willowbrook Boys & Girls Club, and Theater of Hearts Youth First, among others. Kebede co-produced the documentary film on the renowned American sculptor, Richard Hunt, which premiered at the Museum of Modern Art (M0MA) New York. She is currently working on a film about the acclaimed late painter, Edward Clark (1926 - 2019) Kebede is a graduate of Linfield University. She received her B.A. in history with a minor in art. She is a regular practitioner of the Chinese martial arts, Tai Chi.
Rahel Getachew
MANAGING DIRECTOR - AFROLEHAR
Fasika Woretta, MD
Legal Advisors
Avi Nath, MD
Joseph Berger, MD
Gene Major, PhD
David Clifford, MD
Dawn McGuire, MD
Jay Levy, MD
Scientific Advisiors
Keith Parnell, JD
Keith is a multi-jurisdictional corporate transactions attorney and business strategist with more than 27 years of advisory experience. Presently, he serves as General Counsel and Head of Americas to a start-up cybersecurity company, Goldilock Secure Limited (www.goldilock.com). Prior to that, Keith was on the executive team at the Windsor Detroit Bridge Authority (WDBA) under a 2-year appointment to the Canadian Government on the Gordie Howe International Bridge Project. Since 2017, he has acted as a Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and National Futures Association (NFA) arbitrator. Keith obtained his Juris Doctor from the University of British Columbia and the University of California, Hastings College of the Law. Additionally, he holds a Bachelor of Arts degree with great distinction in Industrial Relations from McGill University. Keith has been an active member of the P2P family, serving as legal advisor since 2010. As part of his volunteerism, he also represents Teach For Ethiopia.
Robert Foley, JD
Senior Advisors to the Board and President
Ambassador David Shinn, PhD
Ambassador Konjit Sabati, MD
Prof. Girma Tefera ,M.D
Ahmed Moen, PhD
Other
Zelalem Mekuria ,DVM,PhD
INTERNATIONAL PARTNERSHIP IN VETERINARY MEDICINE
Teodros Gessesse
STRATEGIC GROWTH ADVISOR
Steve Brown
NEUROLOGY TRAINING PROGRAM
Tinsae Woreeta, MD
MEDICAL EDUCATION
Aelaf F. Gebrewold
ORPHAN COORDINATOR USA
Gizachew Beyene, MA
STRATEGIC PLANNING
Ethiopia Staff
Zewdu Terefework, PhD
Country Representative
Dr. Zewdu Terefework Received both his MSc and Ph.D. in Microbiology from the department of Applied Chemistry and Microbiology at the University of Helsinki. He also holds a diploma in psychology and received several certificates on genomics in medicine and genomic technologies in clinical diagnostics, genetic testing and genetic counseling. He runs a genetic testing laboratory in Addis Ababa. He is currently an adjunct associate professor at Addis Ababa University School of Laboratory Medicine and teaches at Myunsung Christian Medical College (Korea Hospital). He has published several articles in scientific peer-reviewed journals and authored chapters in books. He is an accomplished Research scientist and educator specializing in microbiology, molecular biology, and genetic testing. His research activities include plant-microbe interaction for sustainable agriculture, molecular fingerprints for the identification of microbes and molecular diagnostics of congenital anomalies & inherited diseases, genetic testing, and counseling. He is an active member of P2P since its inception and run the organization as the country representative in Ethiopia.
Daniel Awraris, MSc
Program Officer
Mr. Daniel has studied for a BA in Sociology and MSc in Project Planning and Management and has more than ten (10) years of commendable experience in managing humanitarian and development work at different levels. Mr. Daniel has great exposure working with the management of Gender and Protection, Care and support, WASH, Institutional Capacity Development, Women Empowerment, and Education in Emergency, Children Protection, SGBV, Youth Empowerment, RH and HIV, Non-Formal Education, Regional Integration, Rural Youth Livelihood Development targeted projects, Reform Program and Project Execution and Business Development and Regulation sector.
Hiwot Tafesse
Finance and Admin officer
Besufikad Tadesse
Education Project officer
Gerabirhan Paulos
IT Expert
Alemzewd Feleke
Procurement officer
Yigrem Kindie
Finance Advisor
Woinshet Abate
Cleaner
Amanuel Girls Boarding and Care Center Staffs
Gedife Adane
Project Coordinator
Melkam Dessie
Finance Officer
- Two Cookers
- Three Guards