"Africa’s long-term resilience on critical fronts like SRH will come from foresight, not chance. This will build leaders who are ready to act before the crisis hits."
Blen Sahilu is a distinguished human rights lawyer and gender expert with nearly two decades of experience in academia, movement building, leadership, strategic advocacy, and grant management. Her work reflects a deep and sustained commitment to advancing gender equality and social justice across local, national, and global contexts. Most recently, Blen served as Deputy Director of Global Programs at the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation, focusing on sexual and reproductive health and managing grant making within global health portfolios.
Prior to this, she served as the Senior Advisor on Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment to the first female President of Ethiopia, where she provided high-level counsel on gender transformative policy and governance. She also contributed to Ethiopia's National Legal Reform project as a member of the Legal Advisory Council to the Attorney General, focusing on the review and revision of key national legislations. Earlier in her career, she was a Lecturer and Assistant Dean at the School of Law at Addis Ababa University.
Blen is also the Co-founder of The Yellow Movement, a grassroots initiative launched in 2011 with her students at Addis Ababa University. The movement promotes sustained dialogue and gender norm transformation to address gender-based violence and advance gender equality. As a committed feminist advocate, Blen has served on boards and advisory groups and is a sought-after speaker, trainer, and consultant for institutions committed to gender justice and human rights.
She holds a Bachelor of Laws (LL.B) from Addis Ababa University, an LL.M from the University of Michigan Law School and an MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science.