Meron Semedar is an Educator, community organizer, human rights and international refugee advocate. Meron has addressed the UN, USCIS, One Young World, many universities and communities on the global refugee crisis and human rights in Eritrea. His works have been featured in Vanity Fair, Huffington Post, the G7G20, the International Organization for Migrants (IOM), African Voice, BBC Tigrinya, Voice of America and SBS Australia. A short version of his story has been published in a book called Refugees in America in 2019. He holds a South African degree in Civil Engineering, M.A. in International Studies from the University of San Francisco and a Master of Public Affairs (MPA) from UC Berkeley Goldman School of Public Policy. He works as a student advisor to Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at the University of California, Berkeley.
As a service to community, Meron has founded and is the Executive Director of a Bay Area based non-profit organization called Mentor a New Comer that works to empower refugees, asylees, immigrants and underserved communities through high school to University pipeline initiative and hosting mental health related educational seminars and activities.
Meron also founded “the Future of Eritrea” series at UC Berkeley that brings thought leaders with diverse views to discuss and debate Eritrea and the Horn of Africa related topics.