GETTING TO KNOW SEMERE

Semere joined Creative in 2003 and is currently the Senior Director of Growth Strategy with the Growth Office. In this role, Semere coordinates the development of a comprehensive growth strategy for the company.  

In his nearly 20 years at Creative, Semere has held in-country, senior-level management positions for two complex Creative/USAID activities: the Revitalization of Iraqi Schools and Stabilization of Education (RISE), and the USAID/Nigeria Community Participation for Action in the Social Sector (COMPASS).  He served as Senior Project Director for Northern Education Initiative (NEI), NEI Plus and Education Crisis Response in Nigeria. USAID awarded the NEI Plus project five exceptional ratings in its Contractor’s Performance Assessment Reporting (CPAR).  

Prior to his current position, Semere was the Senior Director of Creative’s Africa Center and was instrumental in developing and implementing the Africa Regional Strategy. He was also the Practice Area Director for the Africa Portfolio with Education for Development Division, where he ensured the smooth implementation of projects in Africa. 

Semere received Creative’s Senior Employee of the Year award in 2009, and three of the projects he managed in Nigeria received Project of the Year awards. 

Semere has more than 30 years of progressively senior level experience in education programming, strategic planning and systems thinking. His effective managerial and supervisory skills in the fields of planning, service delivery, project management and research, have been grounded in the provision of leadership to complex programs for USAID, the United Nations and as a senior civil servant, for the Government of Eritrea. He also served as a Senior Manager for UNESCO and the U.N. Office of the Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq (UNOHCI), in which he led efforts to support the humanitarian program in Iraq.  

Semere has a graduate diploma in Educational Planning and Administration from the UNESCO International Institute for Education Planning in France, and a master’s degree in Sustainable Development and Diplomacy from EUCLID University’s School of Business and Economics and School of Diplomacy and International Affairs. He is a native speaker of Tigrigna, fluent in English and Amharic, has a working knowledge of French and Italian, and speaks basic Arabic and Swedish.