Ethiopia Teams
Girl’s Book
Dana Smiles graduated with an MPH in from the Mailman School of Public Health, Columbia University, and a BS in Medicine, Health, and Society from Vanderbilt University. Dana has extensive experience conducting qualitative research, and previously served as a health educator and counselor in New York City where she provided sexual health counseling and STI and HIV testing to high-risk youth attending alternative high schools. Her research interests include gender, sexual and reproductive health, transitions to adulthood, health disparities, and the social determinants of disease and health.
Fatuma Omer has a BSc from the Addis College Institute of Engineering Technology. She has a strong interest in gender and reproductive health, and has worked for the Miz-Hasab Research Institute in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia since 2006 conducting qualitative research. The research projects have focused on voluntary counseling and testing for HIV; contraceptive uptake; alcohol use/abuse and Malaria and Tuberculosis.
Boy’s Book
Allie completed her Masters of Public Health at the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia University (CU) in the department of Population and Family Health. During her studies, she conducted fieldwork as a study coordinator on an a research project exploring adolescent alcohol use and risky sexual behavior in Tanzania. Prior to CU, Allie was a 3rd and 4th grade teacher at an international school in the Czech Republic.
Kahsay Sibhat graduated from Addis Ababa University with a Bachelors degree in Statistics and has more than 7 years of mixed methods research experience. Most recently, he was a qualitative researcher with the Young Lives Survey in Ethiopia and See Far, which included learning from refugee youth about their future migration plans.
Mesfin holds a Bachelor's degree in Educational Planning and Management, a Master's degree in Educational Leadership and Management, and is currently pursuing his PhD in Education from South Africa University. After teaching secondary school for over a decade, Mesfin became a Principal at a primary school, before leaving to lecture full time at Dilla University, focusing on educational planning and management. Mesfin has also worked as a representative in zonal education offices and has prior experience conducting educational research around Ethiopia.