elsabet beyene

Chief Financial Officer

Elsabet Beyene brings over 20 years’ experience in the international development nonprofit and for-profit sectors. Throughout her career she has collaboratively worked with different partners and stakeholders to direct and execute strategies for activities related to finance, grants/contracts compliance, overall operations related to human resources, workplace culture, information systems, business administration/office management, and safety.  Elsa is passionate about her work and is excited to apply her years of experience and skills to provide strategic, professional, and timely support in accordance with the needs of donors and partners.

Elsa is a highly self-motivated and results-oriented professional thinker with extensive knowledge of the rules and regulations of agencies such as US State Department, USAID, and other governmental and non-governmental donors. This allows her to deliver guidance to ensure that reporting is aligned with both donor and organization policies and procedures.  She has successfully managed grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements of up to US$ 500 billion, providing guidance in all aspects of financial management, execution of proper procurement practices, and award performance and implementation.

Prior to joining Cooper/Smith, Elsa was the Director of Finance and Compliance with the nonprofit Education for Employment (EFE), Finance Controller with RGTS - a DoD contractor in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia - and served as Contracts and Operations Manager with Banyan Global.

Elsa believes that the success of any operation is having excellent analytical, problem-solving, and communications skills.  In addition to her professional experience, Elsa has worked with youth in different capacities, providing mentorship and advocating for their rights and personal and professional development. She speaks Arabic, Swahili, Tigrinya, Amharic, and has a basic understanding of Italian.