Our board
Jeannette M.E. Tramhel serves as the Board Chair and recently retired as Senior Legal Officer of the Department of International Law, Secretary for Legal Affairs, of the Organization of American States (OAS), in Washington, DC, where she was responsible for projects that promote the rule of law and law reform in OAS member states and for managing technical assistance projects and field missions. Jeannette is passionate about Food Justice and has done research and work on the issue as an agricultural economist, international lawyer, and environmental planner working in the field of international development. Prior professional experience includes as an environmental and international development consultant, project coordinator and professor of law in her native Canada and the U.S. Jeannette holds a Master of Law from Georgetown University, a B.S. in Agricultural Economics and a Master of Environmental Design. She is a member of the bar in Ontario, Canada, and the State of New York. Jeannette joined the Groundswell International Board of Directors in 2019 and current serves as chair of the Resource Development Committee.
Jay Slaughter serves as the Vice Chair and is a Management Consultant and President of JBS and Associates, based in Alexandria, VA. He is an accomplished executive with extensive experience in finance, management, operations, strategic thinking, governance and fiduciary oversight. Jay held various positions with Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), Washington, DC, from 1996-2014, and most recently as the Executive Director of Business and Plan Operations (2009-14). In that position, he was responsible for Executive Oversight of the Federal Employee Program’s Project Management Office, responsible for five million lives and related medical insurance claims. Jay lives in Arlington, VA, enjoys travel, and is committed to diversity, inclusion and sustainable development.
Bhadra Durgabakshi serves as the Board Treasurer of Groundswell International and also serves on its Program Committee. Bhadra has over 25 years of experience in international development. She works at the World Bank in budgeting and finance and has worked extensively in the Africa Region. Bhadra lived in Mozambique for two years, where she became interested in community development using sustainable solutions with locally grown products. Bhadra holds an M.Sc in Management with a specialization in Nonprofit and Association Management, and an MBA from the University of Maryland. Bhadra worked as a journalist for a leading English language newspaper “The Island” in Colombo, Sri Lanka, before migrating to the United States.
David Conner serves as the Board Secretary and is Senior Director of Talent Development for Duke University’s Office of Alumni Engagement and Development. In this role, he is responsible for developing, championing, and executing training and professional development strategies, processes, and activities on behalf of Duke’s university-wide alumni and development community. A native of Pittsburgh, Dave completed both undergraduate and graduate degrees from Wheaton College (Wheaton, IL) and received an Ed.D. in Adult Continuing Education with a concentration in Southeast Asian Studies from Northern Illinois University. He holds current certifications in both human resources (HRIC-SPHR) and coaching (ICF-ACC). Dave’s career has included work in higher education (extension & continuing ed.), international relief & development, fundraising consulting, and local church ministry & administration. Dave lived and worked in Thailand for 10 years and is fluent in Central Thai. He has also travelled for business or education to more than 25 other countries. Dave and his wife, Mary, have four children – all in various stages of young adulthood – and one grandson, Wes! They currently reside in Austin, Texas, where Dave continues to perform his role remotely for Duke.
Afua Bruce is the Chief Program Officer of DataKind, a nonprofit that works with volunteers and organizations across the world to harness the power of data science in service of humanity. Afua was previously the Director of Engineering for the Public Interest Technology program at New America, where she oversaw projects in criminal justice reform, foster care, immigration, and more. Previously, she spent several years leading science and technology strategy and program management in the Federal government—as the Executive Director of the White House’s National Science and Technology Council and in a variety of positions at the FBI. Afua holds a degree in Computer Engineering from Purdue University, and an MBA from the University of Michigan.
Cantave Jean-Baptiste serves as Groundswell International’s Board Liaison for Latin America and the Caribbean. Cantave is a Haitian agronomist and rural development practitioner with over 30 years of experience supporting rural development, agriculture and sustainability, as well as strengthening peasant organizations. He is also the Executive Director of Partenariat pour le Développement Local (PDL), Groundswell’s partner organization in Haiti. Before creating PDL, Cantave worked with Caritas (Gonaives and Hinche) from 1981 to 1991 as sustainable agriculture program coordinator, and then from 1995-2009 as the national director of World Neighbors Haiti. Cantave holds a degree from the College of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine, State University in Haiti. He speaks English, Haitian Creole, Spanish and French. Since 2014, Cantave has attended the Opportunity Collaboration annual meeting which convenes global leaders to promote innovative solutions to some of the world’s most pressing challenges.
Fatou Batta serves as Groundswell International’s Board Liaison for West Africa. Fatou is one of Groundswell’s co-founders and also the founder of Association Nourrir Sans Détruire (ANSD), Groundswell’s local partner in Burkina Faso. Until 2009, Fatou worked for over 15 years as the World Neighbors’ Area Representative for West Africa, overseeing all aspects of strategy, programs and management for the region. Prior to joining World Neighbors, she held several positions with the government of her native Burkina Faso, where she helped to develop family planning policy and planned and administered projects sponsored by international agencies. Fatou received her MPH from Tulane University’s School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans. She completed her undergraduate work at School of Technical Education in Paris and holds a diploma in participatory development at the Coady International Institute at St. Francis Xavier University.
Tim LaSalle champions his science-based hope for a regenerative food system that will mitigate climate change by sequestering 100% of the current emissions and provide the most robust ecologically regenerative method to feeding a growing world population. Tim is currently the Co-founder and Co-director of the Regenerative Agriculture Initiative at Chico State University. LaSalle previously served as the first CEO of Rodale Institute, Executive Director of the Northwest Earth Institute, Executive Director of the Allan Savory Center for Holistic Management, and he was consultant, advisor, and research coordinator for the Howard G. Buffett Foundation in Africa on soils and food security for smallholder farmers. While serving as a professor at California Polytechnic State University, he also started and operated his own dairy farm and became involved with the California Agricultural Leadership Program. As its CEO, he arranged educational leadership programs in more than 80 countries with heads of state, ministers, community leaders, and he personally became exposed to and a student of many of humanity’s global challenges.
Karen Ansara is currently a 2023 Fellow in the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative. Karen and her husband Jim make grants (especially in Haiti) to address global health systems and the deep poverty that leads families to surrender their children. To inspire more international philanthropy, in 2008 Karen launched what is now the Network of Engaged International Donors (NEID Global), a learning and grantmaking community of 180+ philanthropists, foundations and impact investors. After the 2010 earthquake, Karen cofounded the Haiti Fund at the Boston Foundation, now the Haiti Development Institute (HDI). In addition to serving as Board Chair of NEID Global, Karen serves on the boards of MCE Social Capital, Women Moving Millions, Groundswell International, and Build Health International (founded by her husband), and as Board Emeritus for HDI. Karen is a graduate of Wellesley College (Pol. Sci.), Andover Newton Theological School (M.Div.), and the Non-Profit Management and Leadership Program at Boston University. Karen and Jim live in Essex, MA and have four young adult children.
Patricia Biermayr-Jenzano is a social scientist, specializing in the evaluation of gender studies, food security and food systems analysis. She has a Doctorate in Agriculture and Social Anthropology (PhD), and a Master of Science (MS) in Agricultural Extension both from Cornell University in New York, and an Agricultural Engineering degree from Buenos Aires, Argentina. Her work has deep roots in participatory research, as well as incorporating a gender perspective into agriculture and environmental conservation efforts. She has served as the Gender Coordinator for the International Finance Corporation (IFC) projects in Latin America, also as the leader of the Participatory Research and Gender Analysis Program of the CGIAR at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT) in Cali, Colombia and has performed as a consultant to the World Bank, the United Nations Organization for Agriculture (FAO), the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada and the International Food Policy Institute (IFPRI) among development and research organizations. She is currently Adjunct Professor of the Center for Latin America Studies and the Gender and Women’s Studies Program at Georgetown University in Washington DC.
In Memoriam: Edwin Naylor, (Honorary Member), was Groundswell’s first Board Chair in 2009, and was instrumental in shaping our founding bylaws and governance structure based on principles of international partnership. He passed away in 2018 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease. Ed brought over 50 years of organizational management experience and passion for social justice and community development to Groundswell. His experience includes over 16 years serving as President/CEO of Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area, Washington, DC (1987-1995) and Executive Director/CEO of Lutheran Social Ministry of the Southwest, Phoenix, AZ (1978-1987). In 1995 Mr. Naylor retired to found The Naylor Group with his wife Sarah Naylor, offering consultation services to non-profit organizations from 18 states in the U.S. He helped to found the Verde Food Council, a collaboration of four food banks in the Verde Valley of Arizona. We are grateful to Ed for helping to plant the seeds of Groundswell International.
Gopal Kumar Nakarmi serves as Groundswell’s Board Liaison for South Asia. Gopal has over 40 years’ experience working in Nepal and India to improve the wellbeing, food security, and livelihoods of marginalized populations, especially women and socially excluded people living in the remote areas. He holds a master degree in Public and Business Administration from Tribhuwan University, Kathmandu, the oldest university in Nepal, and a Certificate in Development Studies for Aid Administration from Selly Oak Colleges in Birmingham, England.