User:Tsehaipub/sandbox

Elias Wondimu (born 1973) is a free-press activist, knowledge broker, institution builder, social entrepreneur, and cultural ambassador who works to engender mutual understanding and coexistence by bridging the intellectual and cultural gaps that contribute to prejudice, ignorance, and isolation. To achieve this aim, Wondimu has founded institutions, publications, and conferences and works diligently to bring together people across the world.

Biography

Elias was born in 1973 in Addis Ababa where he spent his childhood with his parents and five siblings. Although he was originally inspired to become a surgeon, his focus shifted when he became aware of the injustices of the Ethiopian government. So he began writing anonymously in order to push for reform, and soon after started producing his own weekly agitator newspaper Moged. During this time he also co-founded the Ethiopian Heritage Trust, the first non-governmental institution which was established to preserve, conserve and restore historical and natural beauty sites in the country; with the Trust, he also co-founded the Entoto Natural Park in Addis Ababa. The youngest founding member of the Trust, Elias undertook most of the Trust’s early expeditions and research works, and participated in international conferences representing the Trust. However, his journalistic activism and dogged pursuit of the truth soon put him and other journalists on the radar of the government, a dangerous place to be in early 1990s Ethiopia.

In September 1994, he left his country to participate the Twelfth International Ethiopian Studies conference at Michigan State University; while away, he received news that his colleagues in Ethiopia were being imprisoned or attacked for their work. He was interviewed in the Ethiopian Mirror magazine, and he was later contacted by the editor of the Ethiopian Review, who asked him to serve as an editorial assistant while awaiting the situation in Ethiopia to improve. Things didn’t improve, so his life in exile began. After a few years, he agonizingly applied for political asylum, then a Green Card, and finally received U.S. citizenship in 2013. He relocated to Los Angeles, where he still resides.

Publishing (Knowledge Production)

TSEHAI Publishers (Books, Journals, Films)

TSEHAI Publishers was founded in 1997. Elias founded this company in honor of his mother Tsehai, who passed away in Ethiopia that same year. In his previous positions, Elias had found a void in the American book market for African books, especially those written by Africans. They were scarce and scattered among various publishers, with the few books available spreading poisonous seeds of ignorance and hatred. Elias found that he had questions for which the current literature had no answers, and the ones that did were out of print. Frustrated waiting for change in the publishing world and not wanting another generation to experience the same troubles, Elias decided to take matters into his own hands.

Since its inception, Tsehai “has become a vital and indispensable resource…[where] Wondimu has assumed the role of cultural ambassador.” Elias never saw Tsehai as an end in itself, but rather a means of ensuring that knowledge would be freely accessible to inspire new generations of readers who might otherwise be dejected by their situation. As Elias has said, “When people don't hear or read, they won't know and, if they won't know, then they won't do anything.” Tsehai published its first book in 1998, and from 1998­–2001 Elias focused on distributing books that were not readily available, including the first English translation of the 16th century Futuh Al Habasha and books written in Amharic.

In 2000, Wondimu joined UCLA's Chicano Studies academic journal Aztlán as assistant editor. At Aztlán, Elias discovered the pressing need to give a platform to a community of minority scholars, giving them a venue and circulating their scholarship among the general population. This inspired him to produce two academic journals with an Ethiopian focus through Tsehai, the International Journal of Ethiopian Studies (IJES) and the Ethiopian Journal of Religious Studies (EJRS). IJES was started in 2002 to help contribute Ethiopian voices to intellectual discourse on Ethiopia. With more than fifty leading Ethiopian and pan-Ethiopian scholars on the editorial board, IJES is leading the academic quest on the study of Ethiopian affairs internationally. ERJS was begun in 2013 to bring the study of faith into the discussion. Both journals are produced in partnership with the Institute of Ethiopian Studies at Addis Ababa University.

Marymount Institute Press

In 2001, Elias left Aztlán to run Tsehai full-time. In 2007, Tsehai relocated to Loyola Marymount University and the Marymount Institute. In his work with the Marymount Institute, Elias founded Loyola Marymount's first academic press, the Marymount Institute Press, an imprint of Tsehai. The press has published a number of books, collections, and plays since its inception and has helped to facilitate the Institute's mission of earnest dialogue between faith, culture, and the arts.

African Academic Press

In 2002, Heinemann, the leading publisher of African literature, ceased to publish its famous African Writers Series. In a time when the publishing industry was consolidating, Tsehai stepped up to fill this void in a small way through its African Academic Press (AAP) imprint. In the past several years, Tsehai and the AAP have published Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka, Paul Zeleza, Bahru Zewde, Richard Pankhurst, as well as many leading scholars. The IJES and ERJS are published under the AAP imprint.

Chereka and FanosBooks

As Tsehai is the Sun, Chereka is the Moon. It reflects the sun's teachings and watches over the world once the sun goes down, like future generations will do. This imprint of Tsehai focuses on publishing books for children. Fanos, meaning lantern, cannot stand on its own like the sun, but it brings light to the world all the same. This most recent imprint of Tsehai is for self-sponsored books.

Social Entrepreneurship

TSEHAI Corp. (Benefit Corporation)

TSEHAI Publishers is gradually moving into a more comprehensive direction with the creation of TSEHAI Corp., which will allow for a greater impact in local and diaspora communities.

African Global Market Enterprise

In 2000, Elias co-founded and served as Chief Operating Officer of African Global Market Enterprise. From 2000-2008, this online venture served as a forum for African producers and consumers to do business. Since Africa lacks much of the infrastructure needed to level the playing field for African businesses competing internationally, ventures like this are necessary because they cut out expensive middle-men and allow buyers and sellers to connect directly.

Journalism (1992-2007)

Moged weekly Newspaper (National)

Elias began Moged in the early 1990s in response to the oppressive government. As editor and columnist, Elias ran probing investigative stories that questioned the policies of the corrupt system in power at the time.

Ethiopian Review monthly Magazine (International)

Elias joined the Ethiopian Review magazine in Los Angeles in 1994, serving as managing editor for the next six years. In this position, he worked with many scholars, political activists, and public intellectuals on issues of local and global interest. Wendy Belcher revealed that “Elias was also able to use the magazine to support those writers suffering at home by managing to sneak reporters [including Belcher herself] into prison to gain exclusive interviews with opposition leaders who had not been heard from since they were jailed.” In 2000, publisher Elias Kifle discontinued the print version and moved the format to an online journal.

African Tribune online Newspaper (International)

The African Tribune ran from 2004-2008 and was an online news source and forum on African issues of importance. Serving as the editor-in-chief, Wondimu attracted many respected journalists and writers to work with him including Alemu Hailu (former editor of the Ethiopian Herald Newspaper) as its feature editor, Chris Abani as its book review editor, and George White as its editorial advisor.

Activism and Activities

• PEN Center USA
  • Elias joined Pen Center USA in 1997. He has served as an executive board member and adviser since 1998.
• International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF)
  • Elias has been an avid supporter of the Washington, D.C. based International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) since he moved to the U.S. He nominated his imprisoned colleagues in Africa, Serkalem Fasil (in 2007) and Reeyot Alemu (in 2012), for the IWMF Courage in Journalism Award. Both women won the awards, which Elias accepted on their behalves in Los Angeles.
• Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ)*
  • Elias has collaborated with the New York based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) on publications like Dangerous Assignments, which are focused on the ongoing global struggle for freedom of the press.
• Black Journalist Association in Southern California
  • He served as an executive board member of the Black Journalists Association of Southern California (BJASC) in the late nineties.
• Ethiopian Institute for Nonviolence Education and Peace Studies
  • In the aftermath of the violence of the 2005 Ethiopian elections, Elias created the Ethiopian Institute of Nonviolence and Peace Studies aims to distribute materials on nonviolent communication and constructive conflict resolution in local languages. The board of trustees of EINEPS is composed of peace, nonviolence, and human rights champions such as Rev. Dr. Bernard LaFayette, professor Amii Omara-Otunnu, professor Donald Levine, and professor Haile Gerima.
  • In 2005, Elias began the annual Tsehai Conferences, an international platform to discuss the state of affairs in Ethiopia and the Diaspora. These conferences attracted luminaries and scholars from around the world who lectured and held panel discussions on major issues concerning Ethiopia and Diaspora. In its inaugural two days and eight panel sessions, the conference welcomed 32 speakers including scholars, journalist, artists, community and political leaders who came from all corners of the world, such as Richard Pankhurst and Dr. Fekade Azeze for example, to the Los Angeles campus of Antioch University.
• United Young Ethiopian in Los Angeles
• African Diaspora Foundation

Honors and Awards

• Ambassador for Peace
  • In 2007, Elias was named as an Ambassador for Peace by the Universal Peace Foundation (UPF) and the Interreligious and International Federation for World Peace (IIFWP).
• Innovative Global Project Award
  • In 2014, Elias was honored by Loyola Marymount University for his dedication to global initiatives and knowledge production as head and founder of TSEHAI.
• Who’s Who in Black Los Angeles
  • Elias was profiled in the inaugural Who's Who in Black Los Angeles in 2008 for his tireless work, both in the community and internationally.
• LA Weekly Newspaper
  • In 2005, Tsehai was named a leading publishing entity in Los Angeles by LA Weekly, one of the largest circulated newspapers west of the Mississippi.

Media Highlights

• LA Weekly profile
• "Q&A with Elias Wondimu of TSEHAI Publishers" Tadias
• Interview with Menalesh Meti (Amharic)
• Interview with Kassahun Seboqa (Amharic)
• AddisLive! Interview (Amharic)
• Accepting the Courage in Journalism Award on behalf of Reeyot Alemu
• "Elias Wondimu appointed Ambassador for Peace"
• ESAT Interview