Meet the Team: Semaria Kebede

At the University of California, Riverside, the EcoCAR EV Challenge brings together students from diverse backgrounds to work on cutting-edge vehicle technologies. Among them is Semaria Kebede, the Communications Manager for Year 4, who plays a key role in connecting the team’s technical work with a broader audience.

Bridging Engineering and Storytelling

As Communications Manager, Semaria leads outreach, content creation, and partnerships across campus. Her role focuses on translating highly technical engineering work into engaging stories for students, faculty, sponsors, and the wider community.

From managing social media platforms to publishing blogs and producing podcasts, her work ensures that EcoCAR’s impact is both visible and accessible.

“My goal is to build relationships and communicate what our team is doing in a way that everyone can understand.”

A Journey into EcoCAR Leadership

Semaria’s journey into EcoCAR began through a personal connection. Encouraged by the team’s Project Manager, she was drawn to the program’s hands-on nature and the opportunity to contribute from a non-technical background.

After interviewing with team leadership and faculty, she stepped into the Communications Manager role—quickly taking on responsibility for shaping the team’s external presence.

One of the biggest challenges Semaria faced was translating complex engineering concepts into compelling content.

Without a technical background, she approached this by:

• Asking questions and learning directly from engineers and faculty
• Studying the team’s technical workflows across subteams
• Experimenting with new content formats

Her most notable innovation was creating AI-based animated technical updates, allowing followers to understand engineering progress in a more engaging and visual way.

This approach significantly improved engagement and received strong feedback from faculty and team members alike.

Content That Drives Engagement

Throughout Year 4, Semaria has led the development of multiple content streams, including:

• Social media campaigns
• Long-form blogs
• Podcast interviews with faculty leads

Among her proudest achievements are the podcast episodes featuring faculty members, where conversations explored both technical work and personal experiences within EcoCAR.

At the same time, her social media strategy has driven measurable growth in engagement, making it one of the team’s most impactful communication efforts.

Building Connections Across Teams

EcoCAR is built on collaboration—across engineers, faculty, and sponsors—and Semaria’s role sits at the center of that network.

She attributes her success to building strong relationships early on, particularly through:

• Team workshops and in-person events
• Weekly meetings with faculty and technical subteams
• Consistent communication across platforms like Slack, Discord, and email

These connections have made it easier to coordinate projects, gather insights, and create meaningful content.

A key part of Semaria’s approach is strategic planning. By understanding deliverables early and breaking them down into actionable steps, she ensured consistent progress throughout the year.

Her strategy included:

• Recruiting team members to support communications
• Building partnerships across UCR months in advance
• Structuring content around defined themes

This proactive approach allowed the team to meet deadlines while maintaining quality and consistency.

From Startups to Storytelling

Semaria’s background—ranging from founding a startup to working in mergers and acquisitions and research—has shaped her ability to tell compelling stories.

Through pitch competitions and professional experience, she developed a strong foundation in:

• Storytelling
• Presentation design
• Leadership and communication

These skills have translated directly into her work at EcoCAR, where storytelling plays a critical role in showcasing the team’s impact.

Through her experience, Semaria has developed a range of skills that will carry forward into her career, including:

• Leadership
• Public speaking
• Cross-functional coordination
• Marketing and communications strategy

Semaria’s work reflects a broader mission within EcoCAR: connecting innovation with impact.

By bridging the gap between engineering and communication, she is helping ensure that the team’s work not only advances vehicle technology, but also inspires the next generation of students and professionals.

Want to learn more about the team?

Follow EcoCAR UCR on social media and explore more blogs to meet the people driving the future of mobility.