Steve Brescia is the Executive Director of Groundswell International and one of its co-founders. Steve has over 30 years of experience supporting international development, social change, and grassroots advocacy. He is the Editor of Fertile Ground: Scaling Agroecology from the Ground Up (2017). From 1996-2009 he worked for World Neighbors in positions including Area Representative for Mesoamerica and Haiti; Latin America Regional Coordinator; and Associate VP for Program Learning and Innovation – facilitating the documentation of a program methodology guide. He previously worked for the Inter-American Foundation, the International Liaison Office for President Aristide of Haiti, and with community-based organizations in Nicaragua. He holds an MA in International Development from American University and a certificate in Asset-Based Community Development from the Coady International Institute at St. Francis Xavier University.
Staff
Rebecca Wolff
Rebecca Wolff serves as Groundswell International’s Program Director and is an experienced food systems researcher and project manager. Prior to joining Groundswell, her career focused on harnessing the power of collaboration to execute impactful projects at the intersection of agroecology, food systems, and well-being. She is a two-time National Geographic Grantee and received her M.S. from the University of British Columbia, where she developed a framework to measure the impacts of agroecology and food sovereignty on well-being.
Ethan Scully, Grants Manager
Chandana Guntupalli
Chandana Guntupalli is Groundswell International’s Donor Relations Manager. She started her non-profit career in direct services advocating for South Asian women facing domestic violence and then moving into fundraising and development. She has over six years of experience in non-profit development supporting programs focused on domestic violence, transitional housing, anti-bias education, and youth civic engagement. She has a Bachelor’s in Psychology and Philosophy from Michigan State University and a Master’s in Peace and Conflict Studies from Rutgers-Newark. She comes from a line of farmers on both sides of her family from southeastern India and is excited about the community development and empowerment that Groundswell develops for farmers across the world.
Tsuamba Bourgou
Tsuamba Bourgou is Groundswell International’s Regional Coordinator for West Africa. Tsuamba brings decades of experience supporting community-led development in his native Burkina Faso and across West Africa. Before joining Groundswell, Tsuamba served as the Executive Director of the NGO Association Nourrir Sans Détruire, where he played a critical role in the emergence of a dynamic agroecology and farmers movement in eastern Burkina. Tsuamba’s key areas of experience include adult education, action research, evaluation, impact assessment, strategic planning, program development, training and facilitation and strengthening local organizational capacities. He holds a Master’s in Linguistics from the University of Ouagadougou.
Dioma Komonsira
Dioma Komonsira is Groundswell International’s West Africa Coordinator for Action-Learning and Advocacy. After his studies at the University of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso (MAST II in Information and Communication Sciences and Techniques), he worked for 5 years at EDIFICE McCann Erickson to develop and implement communication and marketing strategies. Before joining Groundswell International, he previously worked for African Cotton Producers Association (based in Mali and covering 15 countries in West, Central and East Africa) from 2006 to 2023. During these 16 years, he worked as Communication and Public Relations Manager and also as Coordinator and Assistant Coordinator on several projects related to the development of organic and ecological agricultural sectors in West Africa. His competences include strengthening producers capacities, capitalization and dissemination of good agricultural practices, development and implementation of communication strategies and advocacy.