Samuel Yalew Adela | Mastercard Foundation

Samuel Yalew Adela

Senior Director, Secondary Education and Transitions (SET)

Samuel Yalew Adela in a dark blue blazer with a sharp white button up shirt, 2026.

Samuel joined the Mastercard Foundation in 2015. He has led and played an essential role in developing vital strategic interventions and programs, including the Foundation's Young Africa Works strategy. Working closely with key strategic collaborators, Samuel focuses on supporting the team, partners, and stakeholders, engaging young people, and facilitating engagements with all stakeholders. He has also served as Country Director in Uganda and Ethiopia, and most recently as Senior Director for Higher Education Health Collaboratives and Health Workforce Initiatives at the Mastercard Foundation.

Samuel has over 27 years of experience in education, child rights advocacy, public health, and youth employment, working with public, private, and non-governmental organizations on large, multi-year initiatives in Ethiopia, Namibia, Canada, and Uganda, among others across the globe.

He played a crucial role in the roll-out of the Saving Lives and Livelihoods initiative, the Foundation’s largest health commitment, in partnership with the Africa Union through the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) in response to COVID-19.