“Throughout my entire career I have worked on social justice issues.  However, I found myself working on solutions that focused on one issue and often in a silo. I joined Groundswell International because I believe that our holistic approach and model for solving climate change, food security and poverty is exactly how NGO’s should approach these challenges. I also believe strongly in our partner-led approach which builds the capacity of local NGOs rather than supplant them.  The majority of the beneficiaries of our programs are the women small-holder farmers who are struggling to put food on the table for their own families.  Groundswell’s work touches on all the issues I care about from women’s empowerment to food security.

I have also focused my career on building and growing small organizations. Groundswell is currently poised to have an even larger impact and I am excited to be a part of the team that makes it happen.  I look forward to meeting and working with all of our partners and donors. Feel free to contact me at Melissa@groundswellinternational.org if you would like to learn more about our work and how you can help.”