OFFICE OF THE CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Executive Leadership

The Office of the Chief Executive Officer provides overall executive leadership, strategic coordination, organizational oversight, and operational direction for TESFA Refugees with Disabilities Association.

The CEO works under the strategic and governance oversight of the Board of Directors and leads the Operational Management team in translating TESFA’s mission, strategic plans, policies, and Board decisions into effective programmes, services, partnerships, and organizational development.

Lead: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
Reports To: Board of Directors
Supervises: Heads of all eight Operational Departments

Cross-Cutting Coordination

The CEO provides executive coordination across:

Programme Linkages

The CEO provides overall leadership and coordination for all TESFA programmes.→

Supporting Departments

All eight departments support the Office of the CEO according to their respective mandates.

Executive Focus

Contact

Email: ceo@tesfa.com.et

Phone: +251 912 688 566

WhatsApp: +251 912 688 566

Main Responsibilities

Provide overall executive leadership and strategic direction for TESFA.
Implement the vision, mission, and strategic decisions of the Board of Directors.
Lead and supervise all operational departments and organizational staff.
Plan, coordinate, and oversee the implementation of programmes and projects.
Manage the Association’s financial, human, technical, and material resources efficiently.
Build and strengthen partnerships with government institutions, UN agencies, NGOs, donors, and other stakeholders.
Lead fundraising, proposal development, and resource mobilization initiatives.
Promote organizational growth, innovation, digital transformation, and institutional sustainability.
Ensure transparency, accountability, legal compliance, and effective organizational governance.
Represent TESFA at national, regional, and international meetings, conferences, and partnership forums.
Foster teamwork, professional development, and a culture of inclusion and excellence.
Report organizational performance, financial status, and programme outcomes to the Board of Directors.
Ensure that all TESFA programmes and organizational activities uphold the rights, dignity, safety, inclusion, participation, and empowerment of refugees with disabilities, while promoting measurable, evidence-based, equitable, and sustainable impact.

Professional Profile

Mr. Ashenafi Teklay Woldemariam serves as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of TESFA Refugees with Disabilities Association. He holds a Bachelor of Science (B.Sc.) in Mathematics with a Minor in Computer Science from the University of Asmara, an M.Sc. in Optimization from Addis Ababa University, and an M.A. in Project Planning & Management.

With over 18 years of professional experience in higher education, research, project management, information technology, and organizational leadership, he has served as a Graduate Assistant at the Eritrean Institute of Technology, Lecturer, Head of the Computer Science Department, Head of Research and Publications at New Generation University College, and General Manager of Beab ICT Solutions.
He is an internationally published academic researcher whose work on optimization algorithms has appeared in the Annals of Operations Research (Springer). His research interests include evolutionary algorithms, artificial intelligence, optimization, game theory, project planning, disability & refugee studies, research & innovation, and parallel computing.
Beyond his professional career, Mr. Ashenafi has actively served the refugee community as Coordinator of the Refugee Committee and Coordinator of the Ethio-Eritrea People-to-People Peace Initiative, demonstrating a long-standing commitment to community leadership and humanitarian service.

As CEO of TESFA, he provides executive leadership for the Association, leading organizational development, programme implementation, partnership building, resource mobilization, digital transformation, and institutional strengthening to improve the lives of refugees with disabilities.

Email: ceo@tesfa.com.et

Research Interest

AI-Driven Multi-Objective Optimization for Inclusive Humanitarian Resource Allocation among Refugees with Disabilities
Intelligent Decision Support Systems for Refugee-Led Organizations
Fairness-Aware Evolutionary Optimization for Humanitarian Resource Allocation to Vulnerable Refugee Populations
Evolutionary Algorithms for Humanitarian Logistics Optimization
Machine Learning Models for Predicting Vulnerability among Refugees with Disabilities
Multi-Objective Optimization of Humanitarian Assistance Allocation Considering Disability, Vulnerability, and Equity
Smart Humanitarian Information Systems for Disability Inclusion
Digital Transformation Framework for Refugee-Led Organizations
Optimization Models for Inclusive Service Delivery to Refugees with Disabilities
Evolutionary Multi-Objective Optimization for Disability-Inclusive Humanitarian Resource Allocation to Refugees