Tekle W. Kahsay ,

Ph.D.

Tekle W. Kahsay, Ph.D., is a Visiting Associate Professor of Environmental Planning at the Center for Urban Science + Progress at NYU Tandon and the NYU Marron Institute of Urban Management. Kahsay is an accomplished environmentalist with extensive expertise in environmental impact assessment, waste management, and ecosystem services analysis with over two decades of experience, spanning critical areas such as urban morphology characterization, land use analysis, and the demonstration of municipal solid waste reuse and recycling.

Kahsay holds a Ph.D. in Environmental Planning from Addis Ababa University (2016) with a dissertation titled "Study of the Urban Environment and Ecosystem Services of Addis Ababa: Implications for Urban Green Space Planning." This research contributed to understanding how urban development impacts ecosystems and informed sustainable urban green space strategies in Addis Ababa. Additionally, Kahsay has earned a postgraduate diploma in biodiversity research from the University of Ghent, Belgium, and the United Nations University in Tokyo (2004) as well as M.Sc. in Environmental Sciences from the International Institute for Aerospace Survey and Earth Sciences (ITC), Enschede, the Netherlands (1998), where his research focused on the "Impact Assessment of Land Use/Cover Changes on Incidence of Soil Erosion Features: A Case Study of the Massai Mara Area, Narok District, Kenya." Kahsay also holds a B.Sc. in Agriculture from Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, India.

Since 2016, Kahsay has served as Asst. Professor of Environmental Planning at Kotebe Metropolitan University, Addis Ababa, where he lectured for both undergraduate and graduate students, and supervised final-year papers, theses, and dissertations. From 2009 to 2016, he held the position of Executive Director at Gullele Botanic Garden, spearheading the establishment and development of Ethiopia’s first botanic garden, oversaw long-term and short-term planning, staff management, resource allocation, and reporting to the governing board, positioning the garden as a center for research, conservation, and public education on Ethiopia’s rich biodiversity. Prior to this, Kahsay served with the Addis Ababa City Environmental Protection Authority, holding various leadership positions viz. 2006 to 2009 Deputy General Manager, and from 1994 to 2006, Department Head and Technical Expert where he contributed to policy development, environmental monitoring, and institutional capacity building, with a focus on urban environmental protection and sustainability.