Innovators & Influencers

Meet Innovators & Influencers—a network of local rule of law experts available to help navigate the terrain and design activities in their countries and regions

Tessema-Mebratu-300

Tessema Mebratu, Ph.D.

Former USAID/Ethiopia  • Independent Rule of Law and Human Rights Expert  •  LinkedIn Profile 

Country & Regional Expertise

  • Ethiopia 
  • Horn of Africa 
  • Sub-Saharan Africa
  • Global

Technical Skills & Leadership

  • Judicial Reform & Court Administration
  • Access to Justice & Legal Empowerment
  • Legal Education & Professional Development
  • Good Governance, Accountability, & Anti-Corruption
  • Conflict Prevention & Transitional Justice

Favorite Justice Quote

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” — Martin Luther King, Jr.

Program Design & Management

With over a decade of experience in the justice and governance portfolio at USAID, Dr. I designed and managed transformative initiatives worth more than $50 million, including:

  • The Feteh (Justice) Activity ($21.5M) – Ethiopia’s flagship justice sector reform initiative supporting judicial independence, legal reform, and institutional strengthening.
  • Protecting Human Rights in Ethiopia ($10M) – The first USAID standalone human rights program implemented by Freedom House, expanding civic space and advocacy capacity.
  • Justice and Accountability Program ($20M) – A transitional justice initiative fostering accountability and national reconciliation.
  • Legal Aid Expansion Project ($2.5M) – Strengthening 44 legal aid centers across Oromia Region, including prison-based facilities, reaching thousands of underserved citizens.

As a Program Manager and Agreements/Contracting  I provides leadership in program design, financial management, and stakeholder coordination, ensuring transparency, accountability, and measurable results.

Innovations & Achievements

Justice Reform through the Feteh Activity – Building Institutions and Empowering Citizens:  Led Ethiopia’s largest justice reform program, strengthening judicial independence and reform coordination across federal and regional institutions.

Human Rights Program – Protecting Fundamental Freedoms: Designed and managed a national human rights initiative supporting civil society, media, and oversight bodies to advance rights protection.

Transitional Justice Design – Bridging Past Abuses and Future Reforms:  Directed technical and strategic input for Ethiopia’s first USAID-supported transitional justice framework.

Legal Aid Expansion – Strengthening Access to Justice: Oversaw expansion of university-based legal aid centers providing direct services to thousands of marginalized and vulnerable citizens.

Civil Society Task Force – Creating an Enabling Legal Environment: Coordinated advocacy to amend restrictive civil society laws, mobilizing donor and stakeholder support for a more enabling environment.

Most Significant Justice Innovation Obstacle

Institutional and political resistance to reform—particularly within entrenched bureaucracies and justice institutions.

Best Practice for Justice Innovation

Adopting human-centered design and participatory approaches that empower citizens, legal professionals, and policymakers to co-create solutions rooted in people’s lived realities.

Most Promising Area(s) for Justice Innovation

Digital and Data-Driven Justice: Leveraging digital tools, data analytics, and online legal aid platforms to enhance access, efficiency, and accountability in the delivery of justice services at the grassroots.  

Rethinking Design, Delivery, and Financing of Rule of Law and Justice

Outcome-Based Justice Programming: Investments in the justice sector should link financing to verified outcomes, such as faster case resolution, reduced pretrial detention, and higher user satisfaction. By combining administrative data with citizen surveys and publishing open-access dashboards, justice reform can remain accountable, transparent, and people-centered.