Tsedey is the Director of Just Communities at the Partnership for Southern Equity. Originally from Ethiopia, her experiences immigrating to the U.S. and growing up in Memphis, TN have shaped and informed her 20‑year career advancing racial equity in community and economic development.

She began her career as a community organizer for the National Voting Rights Institute and the 7th St. Community Improvement Initiative in Oakland, CA. After completing graduate studies in urban policy analysis and nonprofit management, she worked at PolicyLink and the Drum Major Institute for Public Policy in New York City before becoming Vice President of Community LIFT in Memphis, TN.

More recently, Tsedey has moved into economic development and philanthropic advising, serving as Manager of Community Affairs & Strategic Initiatives for Invest Atlanta, as an economic development advisor to Memphis Mayor Wharton, and as a philanthropic advisor to the Estee Lauder Charitable Foundation, Waverley Street Foundation, and Gates Foundation.

She currently serves on the City of Atlanta’s Urban Design Commission, the Atlanta BeltLine Public Arts Advisory, and raises funds for the African Diasporic Arts Museum of Atlanta.