About the Company
Addis Alem is more than a sustainability consulting firm. We specialize as a systems strategist, combining research, policy, organizing, ecological design, nonprofit leadership, and implementation.
Meet the Founder!
Dr. Yeshaq Sarra Tekola (he/they) is the founder and Executive Director of Addis Alem Consulting.
A sustainability scholar, climate strategist, and community organizer, they bring more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of climate change, environmental justice, nonprofit leadership, and regenerative systems design.
Dr. Tekola earned a Ph.D. in Sustainability from Arizona State University, where their research examined the relationship between climate change, colonialism, and the structural barriers that prevent modern societies from responding effectively to the climate crisis. Their dissertation introduced the concept of the pathology of modernity to describe how colonial systems continue to shape environmental degradation and limit transformative climate solutions.
Their work bridges academic research with practical implementation. As a decolonial climate scholar, community-based participatory researcher, climate scientist, and permaculture practitioner, Dr. Tekola specializes in translating complex environmental challenges into community-centered strategies that restore ecosystems while strengthening social resilience.
Dr. Tekola is also the founder and Executive Director of EcoSankofa Farm, a nonprofit living laboratory exploring how regenerative agriculture, ecological restoration, circular economies, and intentional community can address multiple environmental and social challenges simultaneously. Through urban farming, climate education, watershed restoration, and community organizing, EcoSankofa develops scalable models for building resilient communities in a changing climate. Dr. Tekola currently oversees the flagship Phoenix site while supporting the organization's emerging initiatives in Georgia and Kenya.
Through Addis Alem Consulting, Dr. Tekola partners with nonprofits, foundations, governments, schools, and mission-driven organizations to develop climate strategies, strengthen organizational capacity, design sustainability programs, and facilitate systems change rooted in justice and ecological restoration.
While Addis Alem Consulting is led by Dr. Tekola, the firm operates through a collaborative model. Depending on the scope of a project, Dr. Tekola assembles teams of trusted partners—including educators, researchers, ecologists, designers, engineers, facilitators, and nonprofit leaders—whose expertise aligns with the project's goals and values. This approach allows clients to benefit from specialized knowledge while maintaining the personalized attention of a boutique consulting practice.
