I knew I would become a marine biologist at the age of seven. I graduated from São Paulo State University and worked for 12 years as an Environmental Inspector in Santos, city of the largest port in the Global South.
In this role I conducted inspections, produced technical reports for environmental licensing, monitored port environmental programs, and responded to pollution incidents and environmental emergencies. Working with licensing agencies and port authorities, gaves strong experience in environmental law and coastal governance.
I hold a master’s degree in Integrated Environmental Analysis from the Federal University of São Paulo and a PhD in Environment and Society from the University of Campinas. My research connects science and public policy from a Global South perspective and engages with the field of Earth System Governance by examining how environmental knowledge, institutions and policies shape coastal and ocean governance. I recently completed postdoctoral research at the Marine Institute of the Federal University of São Paulo on the cumulative impacts of large port developments.
I’m also part of the Women in Blue (WEBLUE) initiative, endorsed by the United Nations within the Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development. The program connects scientists and Brazilian fisherwomen to support the One Health of the South Atlantic Ocean.
Finally, and most important, I am the mother of Bento (8) and Gael (3), remembering that I grew up in a family from the countryside of São Paulo, where trips to the coast shaped my lifelong connection with the Ocean.