Meklit Hadero is an Ethiopian-born, San Francisco based vocalist, multi-instrumentalist, composer, storyteller, podcast host, and cultural strategist. She writes and performs vibrant Ethio-Jazz music inspired by her youth as a refugee. Meklit’s latest album “A Piece of Infinity” reimagines a slate of traditional Ethiopian songs and was released on Smithsonian Folkways in Sept 2025. Her music has taken her to renowned venues across four continents and been featured by the BBC, NPR, KQED, New York Times, LA Times and many more.

Meklit is a National Geographic Explorer and TED Senior Fellow as well as podcaster-in-residence at KALW 91.7 FM. She is the host and co-founder of Movement - a podcast, radio show, community building initiative and an Immigrant Orchestra uplifting the songs and stories of immigrant musicians.

Meklit has been an artist-in-residence and lecturer at Stanford, Harvard and NYU. She is the winner of the 2021 globalFEST Artist Award, founder of the Braiding-As-Sculpture Project, former Co-Director of the Red Poppy Art House, co-founder of the Nile Project and former Chief of Program at YBCA (2020-2022). Meklit has collaborated with Kronos Quartet, Andrew Bird, Preservation Hall Jazz Band, and the late genius creator of funk music, Pee Wee Ellis. Meklit is mother to a seven year old son, who is the light of her life.