Managing Director - I am passionate about holistic, upstream solutions that strengthen community cohesion and build individual resilience. Overseeing work strands at Groundswell that advance these objectives enables me to combine strategic oversight with meaningful, values-driven action. This work brings me great professional satisfaction, while allowing me to make a tangible and lasting contribution to society as a whole.
Manchester Community Connector - I’m here to bring communities together and help people feel more connected to the places and networks around them. I work closely with community leaders, support grassroots organisations, and help build meaningful relationships that strengthen local partnerships and trust. I connect and amplify the amazing work they do across all our communities, making sure their efforts are seen, valued, and supported. I’m passionate about creating spaces for collaboration, sharing knowledge and resources, and helping local voices be heard so communities can grow stronger, more inclusive, and better connected for everyone.
Lewisham Community Connector - Working to connect, support, and amplify local organisations that are making a real difference across Lewisham. Focused on strengthening collaboration, sharing resources, and raising the visibility of community-led initiatives that improve quality of life for residents of all ages and backgrounds. Passionate about building stronger networks between grassroots groups, services, and partners to ensure local knowledge, lived experience, and community voices are at the heart of positive change. Committed to helping create a more inclusive, resilient, and thriving Lewisham where everyone has the opportunity to live well and feel supported.
Glasgow Community Connector - Connecting and promoting the unsung community champions within Glasgow and supporting the great work and significant difference they are making for the community and its people.
Luton Community Connector - I'm hoping to bring together more communities in Luton and continue the amazing work already going on in the town. I'll be focusing on violence against women, health and wellbeing in the town and empowering young people's voices in Luton.
Media and marketing - I'm a filmmaker specialising in social impact and community-focused storytelling, working with organisations including Greenpeace, Amnesty International, UNICEF and the Trade Union Congress. I create films that amplify public voices and challenge power, rooted in the belief that storytelling can build empathy and strengthen communities.
Project Manager - Driven to create positive change, I manage initiatives that strengthen communities through education, financial empowerment, and resilience. I am motivated by the belief that when people are connected and equipped, communities are stronger and better able to thrive. I am passionate about empowering communities and promoting kindness through our work.
Operations Manager - As Operations Manager I support the effective delivery of programmes that strengthen social cohesion and prevent harm. I coordinate systems, partnerships, and internal processes to ensure our work is efficient, accountable, and impactful. My role helps translate our values into practical action that supports safer, more resilient communities.
Head of Training - I believe deeply in the power of education to drive positive change. At Groundswell, I help bring vital training and research to communities, practitioners, and policymakers by bridging the gap between academia and real-world impact. Supporting communities to remain strong and resilient against harmful influence is both meaningful and a source of great pride in my work.
Erik was raised in Africa - specifically Sudan and Kenya - and is now a celebrated technologist, blogger and commentator. He co-founded Ushahidi, a mapping technology that helped to map incidents of violence during the 2007-8 Kenyan Crisis, and this technology has since been used to report violent incidents in Madagascar and monitor elections in Afghanistan. He has been a PopTech social innovation fellow since 2008 and was named a Senior TED Fellow in 2010. He has run and co-founded a number of technological start-ups and is now the CEO of Gridless, which deploys modular Bitcoin mining into stranded renewable energy minigrids across rural Africa.
Sarah works as Group Financial Controller at Sainsbury's and is also the chair of the BAME Network at the supermarket giant. She has actively input to Sainsbury's diversity and inclusion agenda and wants to help them become the most inclusive retailer in the UK. She mentors and coaches a number of Sainsbury's staff from minority ethnic backgrounds and also regularly speaks at external events to share her experiences, views and insights.
Farrah is a strategic leader working at the intersection of equity, engagement and funding practice. She spent over a decade at Wellcome, where she led insights and learning within the Equity, Diversity and Inclusion team and previously directed national public engagement funding programmes connecting research with communities and civil society. She now works as an independent consultant supporting funders to embed lived experience, strengthen decision-making, and design more equitable approaches to grantmaking. Farrah brings expertise in strategy, impact and collaborative leadership to Groundswell’s advisory board.
Senior Producer at ABC News and an award-winning journalist. Teri was the first to interview Malala. (US)
Founder and CEO of Digital Voices, a top UK Influencer Marketing agency.
Rob Out is a former Police Commissioner of the National Police of the Netherlands with more than 40 years of policing experience. He holds a Master’s degree in Police Management and is an international expert in Preventing and Countering Violent Extremism (PCVE), Rob has worked with organisations including the European Commission, UNODC, OSCE, UNOCT, and CEPOL.
Award-winning photojournalist specialising in humanitarian and social issues. UK
CEO / Director of Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) a world leading counter extremism organisation. (UK)
Is Associate Professor (PhD) at the Centre for Contemporary Middle East Studies, Department of History, University of Southern Denmark.
Associate Fellow at ICCT (Internations Centre for Counter Terrorism) at the Hague, Netherlands
Fadi Elsalameen is a peace advocate and geopolitical analyst, and an adjunct senior fellow at the Bitcoin Policy Institute and the American Security Project. His work focuses on Middle Eastern affairs, governance, and conflict resolution, with experience addressing corruption and institutional accountability. He examines how financial systems shape power dynamics, individual freedoms, and social development, and is a recognised voice on the responsible use of Bitcoin to support economic inclusion.
Anita Nayyar is a senior communication strategist, researcher and social psychologist working across community & arts, tech and policy industries. Anita was the government advisor for Muslim women 2008-2010 convening the National Muslim Women's Advisory Group and has since worked closely with the Home Office to support women who were targeted by extremist groups. She is also an Associate Director at Human Digital (an M&C Saatchi company) and an academic at York St. John University.
Abubakar Nur Khalil is a Nigerian Bitcoin Core contributor and CEO of Btrust, a non-profit focused on decentralizing bitcoin development in the Global Majority
Dr. Gerry Power is a globally respected strategic advisor with over 25 years of experience leading social justice and international development initiatives across the non-profit, commercial, and academic sectors. He has held senior leadership roles at organisations like BBC Media Action and M&C Saatchi World Services, where he designed evidence-based strategies for major global entities including the Gates Foundation and the UN. Complementing his advisory work, he provides executive oversight as a trustee for several prominent foundations, bringing a rigorous, global perspective to public value and social change.
Brad Galloway became Co-ordinator at the Centre on Hate, Bias and Extremism in September 2020. He has extensive experience in preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE), including intervention and case management work with NGOs such as Life After Hate. He has served as a research assistant on projects funded by Public Safety Canada and the Canadian Network for Research on Terrorism, Security and Society (TSAS). In addition, Brad has consulted for organizations including Google, Moonshot CVE, and the Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD). His primary research interests focus on right-wing extremism and terrorism, P/CVE strategies, and the role of former extremists in prevention efforts.
