About Groundswell Strategy

Groundswell Strategy is the practice of Mike Pope. It exists for the moments when organizations need steady, experienced leadership: an executive transition, a litigation strategy that needs a builder, a board facing decisions it can’t defer.

The name reflects how I believe change happens. Not from the top down, but from sustained pressure built close to the ground, by people and organizations who stay at it. My job is to give that work structure, strategy, and momentum.

About Mike Pope

I am a lawyer and nonprofit executive. I spent 15 years at Youth Represent, a legal services organization in New York City that works with young people, joining as its first attorney and eventually leading it as Executive Director.

Over those years I built its legal and litigation programs, served as Legal Director, and stepped in as Interim Executive Director during a sudden founder departure, a transition where we retained 100% of our funders. As Executive Director for the six years that followed, I grew the budget 72% to over $3M, doubled the staff, built its development and data infrastructure from scratch, and partnered with the New York City Department of Education and city agencies to bring services directly to young people. When Youth Represent was at its strongest, I designed my own succession with the board and handed it off for its next chapter.

I recently returned to Brooklyn from a year traveling with my wife and our two kids. Alongside Groundswell, I teach a law school course on reentry.

I do this work because I love working with people and building things alongside them. Even in hard stretches, I look for the moments of humor, light, and connection. That is where trust gets built.