Flaviano Bianchini founded Source International in 2009. Flaviano is an environmentalist and naturalist. Ashoka Fellow from 2012, specializes in Management and Valorization of Natural Resources at the University of Pisa and holds a Master's Degree in Human Rights and Conflict Management at the Sant'Anna School of Higher Studies; for several years he has been dealing with violations of human rights and health damage related to the extractive industries, especially in Latin America.
His studies on the impact of mining on the environment and health led to the modification of the mining law in Honduras, the adoption of precautionary measures by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in Guatemala and the approval of laws on the welfare of the city of Cerro de Pasco in Peru. Between 2007 and 2009 he conducted an awareness campaign on the impact of mining activity in Latin America in collaboration with Amnesty International.
Environmental candidate of the year from the magazine The New Ecology in 2008 received the social worker award from the University of San Carlos of Guatemala in 2006 and the Chatwin prize in 2010 for his bookIn Tibet: Un Viaggio ClandestinoHe received the Ashoka Fellowship in 2012 and is the founder and director of Source International.
Stefano Maria Pallottino (Roma, Italy) is an Italian civil engineer. He lived in Tunis, Rome, Montreal, Pisa and Lucca.
He has been working with AGESCI organization as educator and trainer at regional and national level between 1991 and 2006.
Since several years he works for the fulfillment of Human Rights to the civil war victims and to their right to health. Since 1999 he is active with the NGO Emergency as volunteer and coordinator of several groups in Tuscany. In the same organization he is a member of the board of directors since 2015.
Since 2004 he is the founder and member of the association Shaleku; an organization that defend Human Rights in Eritrea. He has been a member of the board of director since 2012 and he was twice in mission in Eritrea.
Since 2016 he is the president of Source International.
Laura Grassi is an environmental scientist specializing in soil science and socio-environmental extractive impacts. After a master's degree in Science and Technology for the Environment and the Territory , she started to collaborate in a study in the Cajas National Park in the Ecuadorian Andes. That first experience was a door to new cultures and traditions custodians of a deep knowledge, to ordinary people that became important examples of life but also to become aware of social and environmental injustices.
Laura has worked in Belize and Mexico before to be part of the team of Source International.
Clara Masetti is an environmental scientist, her work focuses on freshwaters and environmental monitoring.
After graduating in MSc Science and Technology for the Environment and the Territory, she led an hydrological and ecological investigation in Tariquia, a Natural Protected Area in Bolivia, and developed a participatory freshwater monitoring method with local communities. With Source International she is specializing in citizen science projects and participatory monitoring processes.
Dr. Rachele Ossola is an environmental chemist specializing in the reactions of natural compounds and pollutants in water and air. She holds a Ph.D. from ETH Zurich (Switzerland) and has conducted postdoctoral research at Colorado State University (Colorado, United States). Since 2023, she has been a member of the United Nations Environmental Effects Assessment Panel, contributing to monitoring the environmental impacts of stratospheric ozone depletion. At Source International, she contributes to environmental monitoring and citizen science projects, leveraging her strong research background and international expertise to promote sustainability and environmental justice.
Miguel is an environmental specialist in contaminated sites, water quality and environmental health with more than 17 years of work experience. He is a trained engineer and holds an MSc in Earth and Environmental Sciences (University of Waterloo, Canada).
From his field in environmental consulting and research, Miguel has nurtured his skills related to international development and cooperation focusing on environmental health and pollution in vulnerable communities and ecosystems. Through his roles in UN-funded projects, he has conducted capacity building activities and assisted in the development of technical materials for communities and government institutions in Ecuador, Kenya and Mozambique.
Having worked in numerous international projects related to water and environment in mining areas of Chile, Peru, and Argentine; Miguel also worked in multiple projects associated with the administration of contaminated sites under the responsibility of Canada’s federal government, a few of these sites located in the Arctic. Other areas of expertise include human health risk assessment and risk management, and environmental forensics.
Miguel is also permaculturalist and speaks Spanish, English, French and Portuguese.
Paz is a lawyer specialized in human rights impact assessments. After completing her studies and getting the law degree in Chile, she worked as corporate lawyer in different law firms and as compliance advisor for Chilean companies with presence in all Latin America.
She holds a Master Degree in Human Rights and Conflict Management at the Sant’Anna School of Advance Studies in Pisa, and an LLM in International Law at the University of Nottingham, complementing her knowledge in international human rights law through a six months professional visit to the inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2017.
Paz has worked in international projects, producing Human Rights Impact Assessments in Guatemala and Mozambique, carrying out training to environmental affected communities; and supporting legal case about mining pollution in Peru. Besides, she served as ad-hoc coordinator at the Training Program on Inter-American System of Human Rights Protection carried out by the Robert Kennedy Foundation, American University Washington College of Law in collaboration with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights and the Inter-American Institute of Human Rights.
Stefano Sbrulli (1988) is an Italian visual journalist based in Rome, Italy. His work deals with current social issue and environmental contents. He has covered stories in Italy, Iraq, Mozambique, Balkans area and South America. He collaborates with NGO and organizations as a UNHCR and UNDP. His works have been published and screened in national and international magazines and festivals. In 2018 was selected for the NOOR - Nikon Masterclass in Turin, Italy.
Julie Imig is a strategic management consultant with experience in strategic planning, finance and marketing. He received his MBA from Kellogg School of Management and worked with the Boston Consulting Group in New York and London. She began her practice in Warsaw, Poland working with venture capital companies in the portfolio before moving to Boulder in 2001. She has now specialized in fast-growing companies.
Komala Ramachandra is the director for South Asia of Accountability Counsel, an organization that supports communities that suffer human rights violations caused by development projects. He has worked closely with civil society organizations and communities on the protection of natural resource rights in India, Nepal, Peru and Mexico. Komala holds a JD from Harvard Law School and a degree in Political Science and Economics from Northwestern University.
Chet Tchozewski is the founder and president of the RTC Impact Fund, a broad-based social and environmental impact fund that provides access to essential capital for mines damaged communities that seek to exploit their natural resources for sustainable development throughout the world.
In 1993, Chet founded the Global Greenrants Fund - an international environmental foundation that grants small loans to grass-roots environmental groups in developing countries. He also co-founded Grantmakers Withot Borders (now EDGE Funders) in 2000 and in that same year he was a member of the Global Philantrophy Forum committee. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the Chino Cinega Foundation, the Voqal Fund, the Council of Foundations, the CDR associates and the Group of Sustainable Development Strategies.
Chet has collaborated with dozens of NGOs around the world including activist, donor and academic groups, and has participated in disparate global events such as the World Social Forum in Davos, Switzerland and the World Economic Forum in Porto Alegre in Brazil.
Prior to founding the Global Greengrants Fund, Chet was an Executive Director for the Greenpeace South Pacific Regional Office in San Francisco from 1989 to 1993. He was on the staff of the American Friends Service Committee - Rocky Flats Project - in the 1970s and 1980s and co-founded the Rocky Mountain Peace and Justice Center in 1983. Chet currently lives in Boulder, Colorado with his wife Susan Carabello and their daughter Tian.
Armando Laborde has been the Associate Director of the Monterrey Technological Social Initiative since February 2015, where he works for the construction and implementation of the social agenda and, above all, the vision of entrepreneurs to develop leaders with a human sense. Armando was director of Ashoka for Mexico and Central America 2006-2015 and co-director for Latin America 2012-2015.
Before the collaboration in Ashoka, Armando Laborde was strongly linked to the microfinance movement in Mexico, he was the first executive director of Pro Mujer Mexico from 2002 to 2006; and part of the founding team of FinComun financial services community, where he worked from 1994 to 1999. He was also involved with the fair trade coffee movement where he implemented a program in the El Triunfo Biosphere Reserve in Chiapas, Mexico. Armando is a biochemical engineer and holds an MBA from IPADE in Mexico.
After graduating from the University of Colorado, Boulder, in International Affairs, Catherine worked in the non-profit sector. He has traveled throughout Europe, Latin America, Kenya and Japan, and has since provided a critical insight into impact initiatives in the areas of human injustice, civic engagement and education.
In startups and small social enterprises, Catherine works in program and community management. It also deals with better understanding the logistics of business development "behind the scenes", always trying to improve and engage in the social sector.
Catherine is passionate about climbing and outdoor activities.
Ed Briscoe is a financial professional who works in social impact, affordable housing and community development. He founded Weave Social Finance, LLC in 2012 after more than 8 years in the banking investment sector with GMAC and Capmark. He has extensive experience in the procurement, subscription, impact assessment, structuring and closing of tax credit transactions. And he is a consultant for a number of municipalities, non-profits, real estate projects and triple-bottom line companies. And it has facilitated investments of over $ 300 million in small projects and large production facilities.
And has a degree in business administration from Samford University and a Master of Vanderbilt University in finance, strategy and human and organizational performance. In addition to being a member of the Source International USA Council, he works for Knotty Tie Co., a for-profit social enterprise that employs refugees. And he also founded the Impact Charitable in 2014, a fund for corporate social investments.
Originally from the Appalachians (Kentucky), Lauri Briscoe approached Source International when she discovered that the effects of the coal mine in Appalachia appeared in other parts of the world where Source International worked. Lauri was a researcher in the biomedical sector and has years of experience in teaching and academic support, particularly with young people with few economic resources. It currently provides support for non-profit organizations based in Colorado.
Lauri holds a Masters in Molecular Physiology from the Vanderbilt University, where he also completed his doctorate. He lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband Ed and their dog Jayber, from the character of his favorite novel, Jayber Crow (Kentuckian Wendell Berry).
