Salem Tsegaye

Salem Tsegaye currently serves as a Senior Program Associate for Humanities in Place at the Mellon Foundation, focusing on grantmaking in history, heritage, and culture for underrepresented communities across various regions. Previously, at The New York Community Trust, Salem held multiple positions, including Program Officer for Arts, Culture & Historic Preservation, managing various grantmaking initiatives and supporting marginalized artists. Earlier roles include Assistant Director for the Arts Research Institute at Virginia Commonwealth University, where Salem fostered faculty collaboration and community engagement, alongside positions in editorial research, grant coordination, and development writing. Salem holds a Master of Arts in Design Studies from Parsons School of Design and a Bachelor of Arts in Cultural Anthropology from Duke University.