“Opportunity Lies Where Untapped Potential Exists.” This motto was designed with the aim to empowering Ethiopia’s brightest young minds and sparking a transformation in the country’s educational landscape through providing world-class education.
The innovative educational initiative, dubbed “Ethiopia Education Initiatives (EEI)” was introduced by Rebecca Haile, a prominent educator, advocate dedicated to advancing educational opportunities in Ethiopia.
Rebecca, the eldest daughter of the late Prof. Getatchew Haile was born in Addis Ababa. However, when she was only 11 years old, the family left for the United States following the time that the Derg came to power.
Rebecca’s father being elite of the age was arrested and was shot and nearly died. Then, they fled and settled in Minnesota, USA, isolated, far from all relatives and friends.
Arriving in Minnesota, Rebecca, like many immigrants, faced a new set of challenges. The transition from Addis Ababa to the U.S. was difficult, and yet Rebecca thrived, driven by a passion for education and an unwavering belief in the transformative power of learning. As immigrants and minorities living below the poverty line for many years, they had to adjust and cope in many ways to establish life again.
However, owing to her strong family and the foundation built in her early years, these struggles did not stop her for long. She graduated from high school ranked in the top 10 out of a class of 500 students that earned her full scholarship to Williams College. After graduating from college, she worked for two years as a municipal finance analyst in New York City. Then she attended Harvard Law School. At Harvard, she was an editor of the Harvard Law Review, a position awarded to the highest achieving students and graduated cum laude in 1991.
Her accomplishments helped her land an opportunity to clerk for Judge Dorothy Nelson of the United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in California. Following her clerkship, she worked as a litigation attorney at prestigious law firms: Williams & Connolly in Washington, D.C. and in the mergers & acquisitions group at Davis Polk & Wardwell in New York City.
A continual enduring success followed as she partnered with her husband Jean Manas and co-founded Foros, a financial advisory firm focused on mergers and acquisitions. Rebecca initially served as an Executive Vice President of Finance and Operations. Currently, she advises the firm on strategy, operations and human resources.
Rebecca felt she had reached a point where her life felt more stable. She began to think of how she should structure the next chapter of her life. She felt the need to answer to the subtle call of her homeland, a call to doing something impactful for her country of origin, Ethiopia. It was then the creation of the Ethiopia Education Initiatives (EEI), a not-for-profit organization that seeks to provide world class educational opportunities for talented Ethiopian students and impact education more broadly came to her mind.
Through her research, she concluded the need for an innovative, student-centered education that impacts the nation as a whole– a center that is uniquely crafted to develop future leaders. Then she did it. She opened the first academy, Haile-Minas Boarding Academy (HMA), the first of its kind secondary boarding school for promising bright students from across Ethiopia in Debre Birhan in 2021.
The boarding school was designed to instill discipline, an appreciation for hard work, and a can-do attitude. The Academy also provides scholarship to those who do not have the resources.
The school is modeling forward looking 21st century pedagogy that develops student agency, independent thinking and problem solving. Already, the school has made a name for itself and has hosted many dignitaries including HE President Sahle-work Zewde and Minister of Education Professor Berhanu, as the school is eager to share best practices and help improve education in Ethiopia more broadly.
Rebecca feels she is transferring knowledge and skills that she has developed over lifetime to her team: diplomacy, creativity, persuading people to join in problem solving, negotiating results that work for everyone, budgeting, fundraising, and marketing on a daily basis. She appreciates collaborating with individuals who are mission driven, creative and those who act with integrity. She believes such collaboration generates superior outcomes as she gets the benefit of different perspectives and expertise.
Leadership for Rebecca is about setting high standards and then empowering others. The saying that “A good leader is one who takes more than their share of the blame and less of the credit” resonates for her. She has learned that leadership requires setting goals, modeling desired behavior, and then letting go and giving people the power to do what you ask them to do, including making mistakes.
Rebecca is also an advocate for women’s political representation. She chairs the board of the top advocacy group, EMILY’s List, a large national organization that works to recruit, train and elect women to political office in the United States.
Residing in New York City with her husband and three children, Rebecca is also an author of “Held at a Distance: My Rediscovery of Ethiopia”, a memoir about her first return to Ethiopia after her family’s forced exile following the 1974 revolution.
Believing that the true change comes from within communities, she encourages engagement with students, parents, and educators to help improve educational outcomes, not just in Ethiopia, but globally. Her message to young people, especially girls, is one of empowerment: “Embrace your uniqueness, seek lifelong learning, and always support each other,” she says.
According to her, the younger generation should to truly understand, love and accept themselves as it can help them make choices that are meaningful and fulfilling in their personal and professional life. “Don’t do things to please others or to assimilate. Keep your uniqueness. It took me a long time to see that and I think especially as girls we worry so much about pleasing others. I would also emphasize that the process of learning and growing truly does unfold over a lifetime. Thus, be receptive to new ideas and people, try new things, don’t be afraid to ask questions and make mistakes, and ask for help when you need it. And for girls and women, support each other,” she advices.
This year Rebecca was honored with the African Impact Award for Transformative Change for her outstanding contributions to education. This accolade recognizes her dedication to creating sustainable change and her ability to inspire others to join the cause.
Her work has also been featured in various publications and platforms, highlighting her innovative approaches and commitment to educational equity.
Many hold Rebecca will continue to be an active member of her community, engaging with students, parents, and educators. She believes in the power of education to change lives and is dedicated to mentoring the next generation of leaders in the educational sector.
BY MENGISTEAB TESHOME
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD THURSDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2024
