Debbie Gowensmith, PhD, is vice president of Groundswell Services, Inc., where she partners with  organizations to advance equity-building movements through evaluation, research, and facilitation.  Debbie specializes in culturally grounded, participatory approaches, trauma-informed practices, and systems thinking. As a methodologist, she’s passionate about blending facilitation, evaluation, and  research strategies tailored to the unique context and goals of each group she supports. Her toolkit  includes advanced methods such as social network analysis, qualitative comparative analysis,  photovoice, and outcomes harvesting—among others. 

With a rich background in community development, Debbie has spent over two decades working  alongside multicultural groups on three continents to achieve environmental, economic, and  educational goals. She co-founded and directed a nonprofit that helped Hawaiian communities reclaim  stewardship of their ancestral lands, growing a grassroots movement that continues to thrive. Today,  she collaborates with a diverse array of organizations, including a social impact group driving Hawai‘i’s  economic transformation, a program supporting returning citizens (individuals reentering society after  incarceration), a statewide initiative to expand access to early childcare, and a coalition dedicated to  improving nearshore ocean resource management. 

Debbie holds an M.S. in International Economic Development from Eastern University and a PhD in  Research Methods and Statistics from the University of Denver. She facilitates an equitable evaluation  community of practice and serves as the 2024 past president of the Colorado Evaluation Network, an  affiliate of the American Evaluation Association. 

When she’s not diving into data or facilitating group discussions, Debbie enjoys running, cycling, hiking,  reading, baking, and traveling, especially with friends and family. She loves exploring creative  approaches to problem-solving, and she rarely passes up a chance to learn something new.