Our Team

The Radical Grandma Collective began as a collaboration between four women from the US and the radical grandma activist-weavers of Na Nong Bong, Thailand in 2016. The collective sought to bring the grandmas’ hand-woven scarves to an international market, raising funds to support the community’s struggle against the nearby gold mine. Our efforts have since expanded, and RadGram is now an organization that works in solidarity with human rights defenders across Thailand. Our name says it all—in Thailand, the grandmas are doing all of their own weaving, organizing, and fighting. Our role is to bring their stories to you.

Our Community Partners

Protection International

Protection International (PI) is an international NGO focused on security of human rights defenders, capacity building, and policy advocacy. Their Thailand team works closely with PPM (see below). When human rights work becomes dangerous, and individuals have their safety threatened, PI works with frontline communities to develop collective protection strategies to keep people safe. PI’s team primarily consists of women who work closely with women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in Thailand and create safe spaces for people to share stories and connect culture and gender to defense work. RadGram collaborates with PI on strategies within the larger scope of the movement work in Thailand.

Campaign for Public Policy on Mineral Resources (PPM)

PPM is a Thai-based NGO that supports communities impacted by extractive industries, especially mining. The team is full of young, university-educated organizers who move from community to community, working directly with local human rights defenders to build capacity and strategy. Ultimately, they help local people create campaigns and push for systemic change in Thailand. 

PPM is the local NGO organizer with the closest relationship to KRBK (see below) and other communities with whom RadGram collaborates. They provide strategic direction for how RadGram can achieve its mission.

Khon Rak Baan Kerd (KRBK; People Who Love Their Hometown)

KRBK is a village-based organization that was formed to resist the gold mine in Loei province in 2008. They represent six different villages in the Khao Luang Subdistrict, Wangsaphung District, in Loei, Thailand. KRBK organizes community members to resist mining and restore the land and people impacted by 15 years of mining and struggle. The weaving group is a part of KRBK and was formed to fundraise for the movement in 2009. 

RadGram formed a partnership with the KRBK weaving group in 2016 to bring their products to a larger market and to fundraise for KRBK’s organizing efforts.

Numgunde

Numgunde is a women-owned business run by two Khon Kaen university graduates that creates handmade bags and gifts. They specialize in quilting and bright patterns and sell their bags in Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Taiwan. They support RadGram through integrating hand woven cloth made by radical grandmas into bags durable for everyday use.

Rotjana Kongsaen

Rotjana is a community organizer and WHRD in KRBK who works to organize her community and coordinate the grandmas in the weaving group. After working in Bangkok for a decade, she returned to her hometown in 2018 to support community development efforts.

Ranong Kongsaen

Ranong is a community leader in KRBK and co-founder of the Radical Grandma Collective. She started the weaving group in 2008 as a means for villagers to fundraise for their environmental justice work.

Staff

Becky Goncharoff

Becky is the Executive Director and co-founder. Having lived in Thailand for nearly a decade, she uses her understanding of Thai human rights defense, social movements, and experiential education to carry out the mission of the organization. Becky holds a Master’s Degree in International Relations from the University of Chicago and a Bachelor's Degree in Political Science from Transylvania University. In addition to her work as the Executive Director, Becky also teaches as a Lecturer in the Faculty of Political Science at Thammasat University in Bangkok. 

Sam Ryals

Sam is the Director of Operations and joined the RadGram team in 2016. She manages the operations and social enterprise aspects of the organization along with Becky. Sam uses her decade of grassroots organizing and project management to ask big questions and dig into the details necessary to accomplish our objectives.

Bampen Chaiyarak

Bampen Chaiyarak holds a Master’s degree in Anthropology from Silpakorn University, Bangkok, Thailand. She has experience working on environmental issues as a researcher and works on the ground with communities in the Northeast of Thailand and the Mekong region. She spends time developing effective communication for contemporary environmental issues and uses the data collected in the field to inform her work on resource management and ecological restoration projects.

Board of Directors

Sam Usavage

Sam is the Board Secretary. She joined the team in 2021 after connecting with the Radical Grandma Collective in 2017 during a study abroad program in Thailand. She is passionate about the power of business for making change and promoting responsible consumerism, and brings e-comm operations and product innovation experience to the team. Sam holds a Bachelor’s degree in Supply Chain Management from Penn State University and works to match supply chain practices with solid sustainability principles.

Mariko Powers

Mariko is a co-founder and President of the Board of the Radical Grandma Collective. She was introduced to Northeast Thailand through a study abroad program focused on Development and Globalization in 2011 and returned from 2015-2016 to further deepen her relationships with communities impacted by extractive industries. She holds a Master’s degree in International Environmental Policy from the Middlebury Institute of International Studies in Monterey and currently works in the philanthropy sector supporting global ocean conservation at Oceankind.

Zoe Swartz

Zoe is a co-founder and a member of the Board. Her expertise in making complex situations into accessible, engaging stories helps educate consumers on the women behind the Radical Grandma products. Zoe is a Master of Landscape Architecture Candidate at the University of Texas-Austin with an interest in public interest design, visual storytelling, and the relationship between the healing of the land and the healing of people. 

Katie Mathieson

Katie is the Board Treasurer and co-founder. Her role as the Director of Davidson Outdoors at Davidson College allows her to provide experience in group facilitation, risk management, and financial management. Katie holds a Bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from Davidson College. Whenever she can, Katie also enjoys spending time designing graphics and creating video content for RadGram. 

Pang Boonbaichaiyapruck

Pang is a board member and joined the Radical Grandma Collective team in 2022. She is from Bangkok and is excited about textiles, community, and sustainability. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Pomona College and currently works in renewable energy investments.

Larissa Gaias

Larissa is a board member on the community impact team. She joined the board in 2022 after studying in northeastern Thailand between 2010-2012 and volunteering with Radical Grandma Collective in 2021. She brings her experience conducting community-grounded research to support the well-being of youth and other community members through the development, implementation, and evaluation of equity-explicit practices and policies. She holds a PhD in Family & Human Development and works as a faculty member at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.

Sulakshana Lamubol 

Sulakshana Lamubol (Fai) is a board member on the community impact team. She joined RadGram as a volunteer and joined the board during 2022-2023. She brings vast experiences working in Thai and regional civil society to support RadGram’s strategic engagement and protection work with communities and human rights defenders. She is passionate about environmental justice, art and textiles, and solidarity building across groups and countries. She holds a M.A. in Public Policy from Central European University in Hungary and a B.A. in History and Political Science from Chulalongkorn University in Thailand.

Praveena Fernes

Praveena is a board member and joined the Radical Grandma Collective team in 2017. She brings expertise in community-based participatory research and ethical storytelling to RadGram. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Public Health from Tulane University, a Master’s Degree in Political Ecology from SOAS University of London, and is currently a PhD candidate at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine at the University of London in the field of Public Health & Policy. Her work strives to decrease health inequities through transdisciplinary research-to-action partnerships between scholars and rights-holders.

Emily Anderson

Emily joined RadGram’s board as a volunteer in 2022 and as an official member in 2023. She has primarily worked for environmental organizations focusing on biodiversity and conservation; however, she is passionate about human rights defense, environmental justice, and connecting people to urgent issues through storytelling. She holds a BS in Ecology and Environmental Science from the University of Maine and a Master’s degree in Environmental Law and Policy from Vermont Law & Graduate School.

Volunteers

We have many people that support our work every day, from hosting markets, lending creative talents, and communicating our message. Thank you! 

Alexandra Dalferro, Beth Eanelli, Cait Goss, Dre Liuliu, Greg Francois, Komal Kaur, Megan Curling, Taylor Dykes, Sofia Antonelli, and MANY others