Dr. Tefera Belay Endalamaw is a forestry expert with over 20 years of experience in forestry and sustainable natural resource management. He holds a PhD in Forestry Science from Technische Universität Dresden (TUD), an MSc in Forestry Science from Wageningen University, and an MSc in Project Planning and Management from YOM Postgraduate College. His expertise spans forest restoration, afforestation, non-timber forest product (NTFP) management, bamboo innovation and commercialization, participatory forest management, and sustainable resource use.

He is currently the Resource Mobilization and Development Officer at the African Forest Forum (AFF), where he is responsible for developing bankable projects, strengthening partnerships, and contributing to strategies and policies for organizational development. Previously, he worked as a Program Development Officer at the International Bamboo and Rattan Organization (INBAR) in China, where he co-developed more than 10 projects, three of which secured funding. He also served for three years with the UNDP in Ethiopia as an Afforestation and Landscape Restoration Officer and National Project Coordinator, managing three projects concurrently and co-developing large-scale initiatives, including two funded by Norway and Sweden.

Earlier in his career, he was an assistant Professor at Hawassa University, where he developed and managed several research projects on forest management, commercialization, and utilization. He also worked as a Research Scholar in the United States on the sustainable management of old-growth forests. He has published extensively in multidisciplinary journals, with research covering forestry innovation, value chain development, agroforestry, climate change adaptation, bamboo commercialization, local institutions, and forest-based beekeeping.