Dawit Kebede
Senior Economist, CUNA
Joining the Credit Union National Association (CUNA) in 2021, Kebede serves as a Senior Economist in CUNA’s Policy Analysis department. In that role, he conducts economic research and supports CUNA’s public relations and advocacy efforts. In addition, he leads the department’s forecasting function. His views and analyses appear in the financial press and in trade publications such as Credit Union Magazine.
With 8+ years of research experience in academic, not-for-profit, and private industry, Kebede's previous research covers trade, employment, consumer finance and policy evaluation, using statistics and economic models.
Kebede worked for CUNA Mutual Group as the primary analyst for the Investor Guidance Center and Consumer Sales Channel of the TruStage Insurance businesses before joining CUNA. Prior to that, he worked as a project coordinator for experimental research that compared the effectiveness of micro-finance and low wage factory jobs on the overall wellbeing of individuals. He also has teaching experience at universities in Ethiopia and the U.S.
Kebede earned a Ph.D. in Development Economics and a master’s degree in Agriculture and Applied Economics from the University of Wisconsin – Madison.