Sandy Schilen

An experienced community organizer, Sandy’s life and work reflect the rare capacity to bridge the divide between grassroots realities and global policies, between academic and activist, and between values and practice. Sandy is the Strategic Director of Huairou Commission and Global Facilitator of GROOTS International, a global network of grassroots women’s organizations. For over 20 years, Sandy has worked to enable grassroots women’s groups to replicate and mainstream their community development approaches and governance interventions. Her work with GROOTS International and the National Congress of Neighborhood Women has supported peer-to-peer learning exchanges and local, national, regional and global advocacy for grassroots women.