Nebiat Solomon has been named director for the Office on African Affairs. She has been employed with the District government for the past two years, leading the Planning and Evaluation Division of the DC Energy Office, and currently with the Department of Environment (DDOE).

At the Office of Energy, her duties were focused on the evaluation of programs worth $9 million. Additionally, she has been responsible for the coordination of responses to energy emergencies that may take place in the District of Columbia.

Previously, she has served as a staff member with the Broward County Office of Economic Development, where she concentrated on commercial and residential redevelopment projects that utilize sustainable designs and building practices. There, she wrote numerous grant proposals to fund these projects. She also volunteered as an environmental education instructor with the Pine Jog Environmental Education Center.

Prior to that, Ms. Solomon worked in the nonprofit sector for Cyber Sustainable Networks, where she developed alliances among international stakeholders and helped organize joint sustainable development projects.

For the first three years of her career, she worked in the Renewable Energy Division of Winrock International, a nonprofit organization that promoted the deployment and commercialization of renewable energy technologies in developing countries. During college, Ms. Solomon spent a year with the federal government as an intern for the US Forest Service, where she researched a range of environmental issues and wrote numerous analyses and reports.

A native of Ethiopia, Ms. Solomon has had extensive interaction with international audiences. She was a member of the committee that drafted the Language Access Act. Her educational background is in the area of environmental geography and business.