Edel Tessema is a Senior Program Associate at CPI based in Washington, D.C. She supports the Catalytic Climate Finance Facility’s Learning Hub. the Catalytic Climate Finance Facility’s Learning Hub. The CC Facility seeks to foster a network of investors and financial instruments to fill knowledge gaps in climate finance, further reducing market fragmentation in this area.

In managing the CC Facility’s Learning Hub, Edel is focused on generating evidence that can advance the implementation of financial vehicles and provide acceleration services to early-stage and market-ready financial solutions in developing countries. She brings experience from USAID’s Private Sector Engagement (PSE) Hub, an office designed to transform the way U.S. international development efforts can more strategically engage commercial entities like multinational companies, investors, banks, and local or regional businesses for positive development outcomes.

Previously, she spent over four years in Chemonics International’s Supply Chain Practice, and later within its Executive Division developing strategies for enterprise-wide innovation and knowledge management solutions. At CPI and beyond, Edel is interested in global just energy transition initiatives and exploring how organizational capacity, knowledge networks, as well as collaborative structures enhance regional innovation ecosystems.

She holds a master’s in international public policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Bachelor’s in Global Development Studies from the University of Virginia.