As the C40 Cities Deputy Regional Director for Africa, Gifti is responsible for facilitating the exchange of best practices and experiences among member cities in Africa. Previously at C40, Gifti served as City Diplomacy Manager for Global Campaigns, focusing on the lead up to the Cities IPCC campaign and conference held in March 2018 in Edmonton, Canada.
Gifti began her C40 tenure as City Adviser for Addis-Ababa, where she primarily worked with the political and operational leadership within city government to support the delivery and public engagement plan of the proposed Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) project. Gifti has more than 15 years of experience in the fields of capacity-building, media and communications, public policy, gender equality, health and rural development. She has worked with the Ethiopian Development Research Institute and Ethiopian Economics Association as part of the Think Tank Initiative's Policy Engagement and Communications program. Her previous roles also include time at UNDP's Africa Adaptation Programme (AAP) in Nairobi, and at the International Women’s Media Foundation (IWMF) in Washington, DC.
Gifti holds a Master’s degree in International Public Policy from Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Maryland.
