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 excited to focus my efforts back onto my home town and have an even wider impact by working with Groundswell Project! I hope to amplify the work of the many amazing organisations in Luton doing good work; especially those focused on mental health and wellness, employability, fighting crime against women and creating brighter futures for our young people.
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.
Hanan moved to the UK from Somalia in 1998 following the outbreak of civil war and has been involved in wide-ranging work for social good in the past 27 years. She has worked for the Women Interfaith Network, Sisters Against Violent Extremism and the Women's Federation for World Peace. She founded the Somali Family Support Group in London, which advocates for greater female participation as well as offering important services for people of Somali origin in the capital. She serves as chairperson of the Barnet Muslim Women's Network, and in 2011 was also appointed as one of the Committee of Experts tasked with preparing Somalia's new constitution as part of the Transitional Federal Government. She has been awarded the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service in 2004 and has also been made an MBE for her efforts in 2010.
Chief Policy Officer and Co-Founder of Bitcoin Policy UK, Freddie began his career as a lobbyist before moving into law two years later. He is a valued advisor to the Government on pay technologies and Bitcoin and has worked with HM Treasury, the FCA and HMRC, as well as providing submissions to Parliamentary committees. He also co-founded ICDEF, a cryptocurrency research platform. He attended law school at BPP in London and also has an undergraduate degree from Cambridge.
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.
Learning Lead for the Culture, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (CEDI) team at the Wellcome Trust.
Is a tech and human rights fellow at Harvard's Carr Center for Human Rights Policy
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.
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
Speaker, author of My Life After Hate a memoir examining the mistakes that led to involvement in hate groups, and the circumstances that led the way out.
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.