From the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa

David Kennedy

David and Friends

Yesterday we bid farewell to our Public Affairs Officer David Kennedy as he heads off to a new assignment after four years of service in Ethiopia. David was strongly committed to advancing the partnership between our countries and people and sought innovative ways to engage with Ethiopians and support their capacity to achieve their goals for a bright future. Some of David’s signature accomplishments include the creation of the Ambassador’s Distinguished Scholars Program, which is bringing 40 American scholars to work at Ethiopian universities. He also was passionate about the preservation of Ethiopia’s culture and history, and successfully lobbied for funding for several projects including two that worked to preserve historic rock-hewn churches at Lalibela using non-invasive, state-of-the-art techniques. David was instrumental in expanding the number of U.S. speakers coming to Ethiopia, growing from an average of two, to over a dozen, creating new opportunities for people-to-people engagement. When presented with a great new idea, David never questioned whether it could be done, but jumped right to figuring out how to do it. David’s positive impact will be felt long after his departure, so please join us in thanking him and wishing him well on his future assignments!