Steve Schmida

Steve Schmida is the co-founder and Chief Innovation Officer of Resonance, a frontier markets solutions firm.14 He founded Resonance (formerly SSG Advisors) with Nazgul Abdrazakova in 2005, starting the company from the spare bedroom of his home.46 Under their leadership, Resonance has grown into an award-winning global consulting and advisory firm with over 100 staff worldwide and offices in Vermont, Washington, DC, Seattle, and Manila.14

As Chief Innovation Officer, Schmida is responsible for developing new products and services aimed at driving meaningful impact in frontier markets.4 He has extensive international experience, having worked in more than 40 countries across Africa, Asia, Eurasia, Latin America, and the Middle East.1 Prior to founding Resonance, Schmida spent eight years living and working in Russia and Central Asia, where he led programs for the Eurasia Foundation and the National Democratic Institute.4

Schmida is also an author, having written "Partner With Purpose," a guide to planning, launching, and maintaining cross-sector partnerships.4 His writings have appeared in publications such as the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Medium.com, The Huffington Post, and The Moscow Times.1

Academically, Schmida holds a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University and is fluent in Russian.1 As of February 2025, he continues to be active in his role at Resonance, regularly sharing insights on LinkedIn about global development and corporate sustainability issues.235