Tesfaye Tekelu
Tesfaye Tekelu is the Founder of Aikido Ethiopia and Awassa Youth Campus nonprofit organizations in Ethiopia. Tesfaye serves as the board chairman for the Institute for Social Advancement and has led a number of youth leadership organizations for the past two decades in Africa and the US. Underscoring this work is a deep belief in and commitment to the power of youth and the arts to catalyze social change.
Tesfaye Tekelu holds a 3rd degree black belt in Aikido and is a longtime student of Richard Strozzi-Heckler Sensei, 7th dan (Two Rock Aikido, California).Tesfaye serves as a Somatic and Leadership coach at Strozzi Institute in Oakland, California, where he teaches embodied leadership and somatic coaching for adults. He is also Martial Arts Director at Destiny Arts Center, where he teaches Aikido and other forms of martial arts, as well as gymnastics and dance, to youth. Tesfaye was awarded a Certificate of Recognition by the California Senate for his work in Aikido and youth development.