Dinknesh is a night that will be celebrated annually in March in commemoration of the International Women’s Day. The main objective of the event is to inspire and empower Ethiopian and Ethiopian American women. The Amharic word ‘Dinknesh’ roughly translates to ‘phenomenal’. This event aims to provide the platform for Ethiopian women of diverse backgrounds who have achieved great things in their professional and community roles to share their stories with fellow women and men in their community.

The very first Dinknesh event was initially scheduled for an in-person formal dinner event on March 21st 2020 in Springfield, Virginia. Upon completion of all preparations and sold out tickets, the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the world and led to the suspension of any large gatherings. This led to the postponement of the event to November 14th 2020. The event was held virtually on Zoom and watched by thousands live on Dinknesh’s Facebook page, Zehabesha and EthioTube pages. The recorded video of the 2020 event is available for playback.

2020 Awardees

The event featured Ethiopian and Ethiopian American women from around the DMV area who have accomplished outstanding success in their own academic and professional arena and as well have provided exemplary service to their communities. The 2020 Award program had three categories: Leadership Award,  Community Service Award and Academic Achievement Award.

Raniya Ali Al-Matari (PhD)

2020 Leadership Awardee

Dr. Raniya is an Adjunct Faculty and Data Analyst, at the College of Pharmacy, Howard University. She is also a Founder and Vice-President of Ethiopian Pharmacists and Pharmaceutical Scientists Association in Diaspora.

Tsige Tessema

2020 Community Service Awardee

Tsige Tessema is the founder and president of Raeye Children Aid (RCA). Tsige Tessema is a Network Engineer who holds a cyber-Security Master’s degree in the United States and a former project manager at Organization for Women in Self Employment (WISE) in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.

Nina Daoud (PhD)

2020 Academic Achievement Awardee

Dr. Nina Daoud is a Black feminist scholar, teacher, and writer whose academic work uses intersectionality as an analytical approach to advancing equity among Black diasporic college students.

2020 Roundtable Participants

Momina Ahmed

Panelist

Momina Ahmed is a registered Nurse who has served for many years. She has an MSC in Public Community Health. She worked at AmeriGroup Managed Care Organizations Case Management Department as a Manager since 2017.

Hamrawit Tesfa

Panelist

Hamrawit has a bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work. She is an author of a book and the executive director of Ethiopian American family resource center. She works in Montgomery College as a community Engagement Specialist and she is pursuing her PhD in social work.

Jemila Abrha

Moderator

Jemila is the mother of three lovely kids. she is a Software Developer with a Bachelor’s degree in Civil Engineering. She has 4 AWS Certificates, 2 Microsoft Certificates and she volunteers at Maryland Kids Coding Tutorials. She organizes and moderates community panel discussions under Barakah Circle.

2020 Event Participants

Halima Beshir

Keynote Speaker

Halima Beshir is a passionate community organizer. She is currently running a DC based nonprofit research organization, Debo Institute. She is also one of the founders of the Ethiopian Center for Peace & Progress and a current board member. She is a Web Developer and IT Consultant.

Seham Yousuf

Presenter

Seham Yousuf is a motivated and results oriented professional with over five years of experience in delivering IT solutions as a senior business and systems analyst.

Jemila Tessema

Presenter

Jemila is the mother of two beautiful children. She is an Ethiopian American consultant, Developer and IT Trainer. She is one of the founders of Amenim Solutions which provides high-quality IT Skill-based Training and Consulting services.

Senait Mulugeta

Poetess

Senait Mulugeta is a renowned Poetess who is familiar among the DMV area Ethiopian American community for her intriguing and eloquent poems. She is also an IT Professional.

Lulet Yasin

Event Team Member

Lulet Yassin (Mimi) is an avid community organizer who has served for many years on the board of Virginia based Selam Foundation. She is a self-driven and dependable SharePoint Developer and Certified MS and Knowledge Manager (CKM). She is a loving wife and mother of two boys.

Sara Ahmed

Event Team Member

Public Health and Policy Professional with an international background and experience in the U.S. healthcare system, Medicare compliance requirements, and health data analysis.

Fetya Omer

Event Team Member

Fetya is a proud wife, a diligent mother, a very enthusiastic Motivational Speaker, Personal Development trainer. She is certified and experienced in leadership and Mentoring, Interpersonal-Relationships, Network Marketing, Business Strategy, and Oracle Financial. She loves helping others and volunteering. She is currently working as Senior Database Administrator.

Rahma Abdella

Event Team Member

Rahma Abdella is a skilled Senior Software Engineer with more than six years of experience in IT industry. She graduated from Maharishi university of Management with a Master’s degree in computer science.

Arefat Hussein

Event Team Member

Arefat is an IT professional. She is one of the organizers of Dinknesh.