Growing up in Ethiopia, Bezawit Mulatu knew what it was like to deal with a health care system ill-equipped to deal with special needs, like her own nearsightedness.
“Glasses are very expensive there and going to the optometrist was a big deal,” says the maverick young problem solver now leading a groundbreaking initiative that redefines accessibility for blind patients in the clinical care system.
As an undergraduate at the University of Richmond, where she now works as an EMT, Mulatu created a federally supported project titled Tactile Translations, which helps health care professionals better treat and communicate with the blind. Bezawit developed a distinct suite of tools, Braille-translated anatomical models, and radio-guided navigation systems that enable blind patients to better understand medical procedures and navigate hospital bureaucracy. This invaluable research is soon to be published in the Journal of Medical Ethics.
But her work hasn’t been limited to helping the blind. At UR, she led a university-wide campaign that increased mental health screenings, and has done valuable research on brain tumors, devising an AI model for identifying cancerous growths, an idea inspired by the game, “Where’s Waldo?” She also founded Pathways to a College Experience (PACE), an outreach program that has exposed over 4,000 K–8 Title I students to college life through campus visits and mentorship.
Seemingly tireless, an obvious expert at time management, “Beza” (as she’s known), makes it sound easy. “I just try to see if we can sit down and really look at the data,” she says. “What can it show us and what can we do better?”
As an EMT for UR EMS, Tuckahoe Volunteer Rescue Squad and Caritas, the downtown Richmond resident has responded to emergencies ranging from overdoses to domestic violence, while simultaneously managing logistics, transport and inter-agency coordination. A 2024 Governor’s Award honoree and the recipient of the Bonner Center’s Engage for Change Leadership award, she also works in area refugee and immigrant care, joining with CrossOver Ministry, a clinic for uninsured patients, to build linguistic and procedural infrastructure for refugee and immigrant patients. Mulatu is also working toward her pilot’s license, and volunteers for Camp Kasem, a free retreat for children who have lost their parents or caregivers to cancer.
“Bezawit is not just a high achiever. She is a systems builder who transforms lived experience into public good,” says co-worker Hana Bedada. “Every project she leads fills a gap in systems that overlook the most vulnerable. Bezawit’s leadership is not theoretical or future facing. It is already reshaping how Virginia cares, educates and responds.”
