Semira Mohammed Beyan

Semira Mohammed Beyan headshot

Hubert H. Humphrey Fellow, 2023-24

  • Home country: Ethiopia
  • Specialization: Natural/Soil Resource Management; Environmental Policy and Climate Change in Ethiopia; Gender in Agricultural Development and Innovation 
  • Current role: Executive Director, Gate for Opportunity (GO)
  • Education: Tshwane University of Technology (South Africa), Doctor of Technology in Agriculture (PhD in Crop production Ethiopian-Equivalent); Hawassa University (Ethiopia), Master’s in  Soil Science;  Debub University (Ethiopia), Bachelor’s of Science in Plant Production and Dry-land Farming
  • Connect: smb535 [at] cornell.edu (Email) | LinkedIn | Learn more about Semira’s work
  • Pronouns: She/Her

Semira Mohammed Beyan has a diverse career spanning academia and the nonprofit sector. Her work focuses on sustainable agricultural practices and women’s empowerment, using scientific insights into actionable strategies for positive change. As a development practitioner, Semira leads programs on women's empowerment, urban agriculture, gender-sensitive climate-smart agriculture, livelihood diversification, and capacity-building. She founded Gate for Opportunity (GO), an NGO improving the livelihoods of women and girls in Ethiopia. As GO's Executive Director, she focuses on capacity building, informal education, and smart agricultural innovations for food security and poverty reduction. She is also an educator, trainer, and mentor at Dilla & Hawassa Universities in Ethiopia. She plans to create a social enterprise to reinvest profits for community development.

As a Postdoctoral Fellow at Tufts University (2016-2017), Semira explored the relationship between soil micro-nutrients and the nutritional status of women and children. Her findings revealed that malnutrition in vulnerable populations was influenced more by poor dietary diversity and associated factors than nutrient content. This led her to address food and nutritional insecurity, especially for rural women.

Semira's commitment to learning is evident through her participation in skill development programs. Since 2019, she has been part of the AWARD-One Planet Fellowship program and the AGRA-led CALA Advanced Leadership Program. Her Doctorate in Technology in Agriculture, Master’s in Soil Science, and Bachelor's in Plant Production and Dry-land Farming provide a strong academic foundation for her work.