Leadership
Ms. Bekele has been invited to serve on various Boards and Committees of public and private institutions, throughout her career and had Honorable mentions from her Country and others on her work.
“What are the needs of the world? What can I do that won’t be done if I don’t do it?” ~ Bill Clinton, the 42nd U.S. President
Ms. Bekele has been invited to serve on various Boards and Committees of public and private institutions, throughout her career and had Honorable mentions from her Country and others on her work.
- Advisory board of EurAfricanForum 2019
- Board of Director to the Golden Gate University Alumni Association
- SF Internet Society (ISOC)Founder and Board Member
- Expert Advisor to The Global Alliance for Information and Communication Technologies and Development GAID, an initiative started by the former United Nations Secretary-General, and chaired by Dr. Craig Barrett, Intel Corp, Chairman
- Steering Committee Member, Advisory Member, Worlds Affairs Council of Northern California- Contra Costa Chapter
- Expert Advisor to UNPAN/UNDESA/ITU– Public Private Partnership, MDG implementation strategies, under ECOSOC/ WSIS
- International Ambassador to various Intercontinental Rotary Clubs. Received the Rotary Paul Harris Fellow award for her contribution to the Rotary work.
- Policy Advisor for New gTLDs and IDNs to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names & Numbers (ICANN)
- Interim Steering Committee Advisor and East African Representative to the First African Stakeholders Network, charged to coordinate ICT activities between ECA, UNDP, ITU, UNESCO and the African members of the UNICT Task Force.
- Expert Advisor, to African Technical Advisory Committee (ATAC), a project of theAfrican Information Society Initiative (AISI) under the Sponsorship of UNECA
- Board of Director, Information Systems Audit & Control Association, San Francisco (ISACA)
for the transfer of inherited shares Read Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Alamo California June 2009
2021: Bekele received Honorary Illustrative Awards for her contributions in her Industry and community in Multiple Continents, US and Africa from the Silicon Valley Business Journal and the CEO Today Africa Awards.
2018: Bekele received a Champion of Development Award by the AfricaLink Solidarity Awards in Switzerland
2017: UN ITU and UN Women recognized Miss.Africa Digital founded by Bekele as finalist in its Equals in Tech Awards
2017: CIO East Africa recognized Bekele as an “Industry Trailblazer” and “Internet Governance Pioneer May Edition 2017 (Page 34 of 44)
2016: Bekele is noted among Eight most influential Women in the Tech Scene
2016: Bekele was recognized among the Notable alumni of Nazareth School
2014: Sophia Bekele Named In Europe’s Top 20 Inspirational African Diaspora Women Professionals, “ADIPWE 2014“
2014: Bekele was nominated for Forbes Africa “Most Inspirational Young African Leader”
2013: Bekele was enumerated as “African Women to Watch” by Bloomberg TV, a prime TV program that “celebrates the most fearless, competitive and visionary African women of our time”, and explores “the women working hard to close the gender gap and shaping the continent’s social, political and economic landscape”
2013: Sophia Bekele was named among Top “50 Trailblazers-Our Made in Africa” along side US President Barrack Obama and others by special “Collector’s Edition” of UK’s “NewAfrican Magazine”an IC Publications group.
2013: Bekele was nominated for the TransformAfrica 2013 Continental Excellence Awards in ICT which was hosted by H.E Paul KAGAME, President of the Republic of Rwanda in Kigali and Dr. Hamadoun Toure, the Secretary General of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
2005: Bekele was presented with the Paul Harris Fellow award for her contributions in the various works of International Rotary Clubs
2005: Bekele was recognized, along side women in the Ethiopian Federal Parliament, government women ministers and women investors and company executives, in recognition of her entrepreneurship and corporate leadership. – Ethiopian Herald
