Our Team

GABRIEL ANDRIOLLI

Communications Focal Point

Gabriel is a friendly guy. He lives in Porto Alegre, in the south of Brazil, and has recently graduated in International Relations from UNISINOS. During his graduation, Gabriel participated in several projects in communication roles and was always worried about the social impact of these activities. Also, Gabriel started his professional career in the marketing and communications area, although he does not consider himself an outgoing person. Overall, he is frequently concerned with the inequalities in our world, especially regarding climate change, and aims to act right now! To try to relax, Gabriel likes reading books on investigations with historical backgrounds (very specific), watching Netflix, reading about China, and watching YouTube videos about cleaning and painting restorations.

CÂNDIDA SCHAEDLER

Media Relations and Liaison Focal Point

Cândida is a Brazilian journalist who believes in reconnecting people to nature. She has done a lot of different things professionally, but what connects everything is the passion for writing, learning and experimenting. She lives in Porto Alegre and has worked for 4 years with her own communication agency specialized in agroecology and family farming. She is currently working as Communications Coordinator at the State Department for Innovation, Science and Technology of Rio Grande do Sul, where she can apply what she has been studying about regenerative leadership. At EmpoderaClima, she is the liaison with the Global Landscapes Forum, where she was also chosen as a Social Media Ambassador in 2022.

ANNIA KLEIN

Communications Officer

Annia Klein is from Porto Alegre, Brazil and graduated in International Relations from Unisinos, in Brazil. She is now a Political Science Master's Student in Germany. Since her Bachelor’s Degree, she has developed an interest in Gender Studies and during the years living in Germany, she started to deepen her knowledge in Climate Change Studies. She believes this is an extremely relevant matter to be working with, and joining both Gender and Climate Change subjects is what most interested her in joining EmpoderaClima. Gaining experience and committing to working as a Comms volunteer, to Annia, is a way of making a difference as a young woman from a developing country.

EMILY CAMPOS

Communications Officer

Emily Campos is a Junior International Relations professional. She holds a Bachelor's degree from Universidade Federal Rural do Rio de Janeiro (UFRRJ) and a Master's degree in International Relations from Universidade Federal da Integração Latino-Americana (UNILA). Complementing her academic journey, she furthered her expertise with a Postgraduate diploma in International Law at Centro de Estudos em Direito e Negócios (CEDIN). Her diverse interests span across Human Rights, International Cooperation, Gender, and Sustainable Development. Emily's exceptional skills have been honed through extensive experience in Model United Nations (MUN), International Law competitions and scientific research. Her contributions extend to valuable work in administrative activities and project assistance within research centers and International organizations. Beyond her professional pursuits, she actively engaged in educational volunteer work in both Peru and Brazil. With a true polyglot spirit (she speaks 5 languages!), Emily is passionately committed to democratizing knowledge and fostering genuine human communication, fueled by her unwavering dedication to 'communicare,' the Latin term that signifies sharing, participating, and making a positive impact in the world.

SOFIA SALLES

Communications Officer

Sofia Salles is a 23 year old Brazilian woman from Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She holds a bachelor`s degree in International Relations from Pontifícia Universidade Católica de Minas Gerais (PUC-Minas). Since the beginning of her studies, Sofia has been inspired on perusing a career to understand the relation between environmental preservation on a global scale. With that interest, during her graduation, Sofia has developed researchers on the topic of climate change and sustainable development, as well as voluntary work. Her graduation thesis was an analysis on the impacts and the relationship between the International Climate Change Regime and the concept of State Sovereignty. In her spare time, Sofia enjoys reading, spending time with her friends and watching movies.

GUILHERME PIRES

Digital & Content Officer

Guilherme is from Porto Alegre, Brazil, where he completed his undergraduate degree in Administration with a focus on International Business at PUC-RS. With experience in people management and currently leading the E-commerce team at Águia Veterinária company in Porto Alegre, Guilherme has decided to pursue further academic studies in the business field. He is starting his Master's degree in Marketing at the University of Coimbra in Portugal in 2023. He has always had a desire to contribute as a volunteer in an area that makes a difference for people, and he will join the Communications team as Digital & Content Officer at EmpoderaClima. In his free time, Guilherme loves going to the cinema, dining out, and traveling.

LUIS IGLESIAS

Institutional Affairs Focal Point

Luis is from São Paulo, Brazil. He holds a BA in International Relations from PUC-SP, with academic mobility at Deusto University (Spain), and is now enrolled in a postgraduation in Environment and Sustainability at FGV. He is also a fellow at the Youth Climate Leaders (YCL) and a researcher on environmental education. His main interesting subjects are international politics, sustainable development, political ecology, human rights, degrowth, among others. In his free time, Luis enjoys cooking vegan recipes, playing with his dog, listening to a song, going out with friends and travelling!

BEATRIZ BRASILIANO

Institutional Affairs Officer

Beatriz Brasiliano is a Brazilian lawyer and holds a Bachelor's degree in Law from IBMEC in Rio de Janeiro, as well as a Master's degree in International Law and a second Master's degree in International Administration from Paris Panthéon-Sorbonne University in France. During her academic journey, Beatriz worked as an advocacy officer for a Brazilian NGO at the Human Rights Council, gaining practical experience in advocating for human rights issues. After her studies, Beatriz gained valuable experience in international organizations. She interned at the International Criminal Court in The Hague, Netherlands, subsequently, she secured another internship opportunity at the World Food Programme Headquarters in Rome, Italy. Building on this experience, Beatriz extended her expertise by working as a consultant at Rabobank in Amsterdam, where she participated in a project in West Africa through the Partnerships Department.

LUÍSA BUOGO

Institutional Affairs Officer & Portuguese Translation.

Luísa Buogo is from Porto Alegre, Brazil, and holds a Bachelor's degree in International Relations from UNISINOS, Brazil. She is currently running her own business as a private English teacher while pursuing a career in multilateral institutions. She believes that gender and climate issues need to have more space in political and social agendas and for her, the commitment to bring information and knowledge widely is one of the ways to achieve this goal.

CARMEN ROBERTA TABOADA

Research Focal Point

Carmen is from Porto Alegre, Brazil. She holds a BA in International Relations at Unisinos, Brazil, for which her thesis was about the suffrage movement and its impact on British foreign policy. Since then, she fell in love with the subject of women empowerment and political participation, and social justice movements in general. Carmen considers access to information and education fundamental pillars for changing the world order we live in, so she has participated in different social and academic volunteer work, and now is joining EmpoderaClima to contribute even more to this objective. In her free time, Carmen enjoys reading books, watching TV series, listening to podcasts about global news, hanging out with her friends and travelling.

GABRIELA TAVERAS

Research Co Focal Point

Gabriela Taveras Ruiz is a young professional who is skilled in advocacy, research and climate change. She holds a Graduate Certificate in Tropical Forest Landscapes from Yale University, a Master of Arts in Development Studies (majoring in the Environment, Resources and Sustainability) from the Graduate Institute in Geneva, Switzerland, and a Bachelor of Science in Diplomacy and International Relations from Seton Hall University. She grew up in the Dominican Republic, and has worked for institutions such as the United Nations, the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and the U.S State Department. In 2023, she was selected for the 2023 Caribbean Climate Justice Fellowship, an initiative hosted by Climate Tracker and Open Society Foundation that aims to empower and amplify the voices of passionate young journalists dedicated to addressing the climate crisis and advocating for climate justice in their communities. Gabriela's goal is to raise awareness of the hopeful and inspiring actions young Dominican leaders are taking to address the climate crisis. She is honoured to volunteer with organizations such as Care About Climate and EmpoderaClima, and she enjoys reading, writing, painting and bridging her curiosity about the world with the opportunity to explore it as much as possible.

AMANDA LEGÓRBURU

Researcher

Amanda Legórburu is a Fine Arts and Design Student located in Madrid, Spain. She is originally from Caracas, Venezuela but moved to Madrid in 2018 to pursue her studies. Amanda is very interested in topics of social diversity and inclusion, as well as climate change solutions. In her free time, she loves reading, drawing, and watching tv shows. She is also an avid language and music lover!

BÁRBARA POERNER

Researcher

Bárbara Poerner Pereira is from Santa Catarina, currently based between Florianópolis and São Paulo. She works as a journalist at Instituto Climainfo and Instituto Caburé (both socio-environmental organizations); as a freelance environmental reporter; and as a volunteer researcher at EmpoderaClima. She started her career in fashion, reporting on the industry's social and environmental impacts. Bárbara also worked for years as a writer at Instituto Fashion Revolution Brasil and as reporter for ELLE Brazil magazine, as well as co-founding an organization called Cursinho do Zinga, which offers college preparatory classes for low-income students in Florianópolis.

Bárbara has been working with focus in researching and writing about human rights, climate change and energy justice, and carrying out projects in these areas. In more than seven years working with communication, she gained experience with reporting, audiovisual productions such as documentary webseries and podcasts, script writing and public relations.

ERILDA SOUSA

Researcher

Erilda was born in Pará Brazil but is currently living in the Northeast of Brazil where she works as a biologist in the food industry. She holds a Master's degree in Biodiversity and Conservation and has been involved in all kinds of social movements. She started at 13 years old with Movimento dos Atingidos por Barragens (MAB) and Casa de Educação Popular, and since then, she has always found a way to contribute to these subjects. Professionally, she had been working as a professor and as an environmental consultant. Erilda is crazy about the unknown, loves discovering new musicians, knows lots of fun facts about songs and artists, and loves her dog, Bento. She also enjoys going out and meeting new people!

JULIA ROSA

Researcher

Julia is from Porto Alegre, Brazil, but has also lived in England and in the United Arab Emirates. Her time abroad fostered her love for international studies. She holds a BA in International Relations from UNISINOS and is currently undergoing her Masters degree in International Strategic Studies at UFRGS, where she focuses her research on sustainable development and the Global South. She has a passion for teaching and wishes to continue down this path. Since the beginning of her academic and professional career, she has been interested in the intersections between International Relations and environmental preservation, considering this a key challenge in the 21st century. She has had the opportunity to volunteer abroad twice, in Thailand and Ethiopia. In her spare time, she enjoys reading romance novels, watching documentaries of any genre and spending time with friends, family and her two dogs.

MAÏRA DE ROUSSAN

Researcher

Maïra de Roussan has dual Canadian and Brazilian citizenship. She graduated in Political Science and History from McGill University in Canada and currently lives in Salvador, Bahia, her hometown. She is now working at the intersection of International Cooperation and Sustainability, in Salvador´s City Hall. She is also completing a postgraduation in Environment and Sustainability at FGV. Maïra is passionate about the environment, especially the ocean and its protection. During her free time, you can always find her travelling or by the sea, with her snorkel or surfboard. She has found herself in the environmental agenda and has big dreams to promote policies to fight climate change and gender inequality. She strongly believes in Empodera’s mission statement and in the power that education and public awareness hold to build a better future for the planet and for everyone.

TAÍS SERRA MONTANI

Researcher

Taís is from Porto Alegre, in the south of Brazil. She is currently studying International Relations at Unisinos, where she gets really involved with student politics and initiatives of the university. Promoting gender equality has always been very important for her, and studying the huge challenge of climate change in the international system showed her how we still have many simple unknown ways to contribute and misinformation about this fight and its consequences. She is one of the founders of @guriasdori, an Instagram account focused on the democratization of information and women representation. In her spare time, she loves reading and having a cup of coffee.

MARIA MARGARITA DIAZ

Translation Focal Point

María Margarita Díaz is currently living in Montréal, Canada studying Political Sciences and pursuing her passions in the feminism and climate action fields. Being originally from Caracas, Venezuela, María speaks Spanish, English and French. She has also participated in several Model UN educational projects, where she learned how important it is for young adults to seek to make a change in today’s political forum and have a voice among policy makers. Having researched topics such as the disproportionate impact of environmental degradation on Developing States and coming from a highly polarized country, she is a volunteer for Empodera Clima through which she hopes to learn and educate on the intersectionality between gender issues, politics, and climate justice. In her free time, María enjoys reading and exploring Montréal’s food scene.

LUISANNA HERNANDEZ JEPPESEN

Spanish Translator

Luisanna was born in Caracas, Venezuela, where she learned that education is the paramount pillar upon which society stands. She studied at Colorado State University, an institution that values the interconnectedness of planetary and human health, and graduated with Bachelor’s of Sciences in both Microbiology and Zoology, with a Chemistry minor. Her Thesis research project was part of a greater NSF funded study in crustacean endocrinology with impacts in food security and ecology. She volunteered as an animal caretaker at the W.O.L.F. Sanctuary and the Rocky Mountain Raptor Program in Colorado, and worked as a university-level genetics tutor. She currently lives in Berlin, where she studies German and bakes something sweet every weekend with her girlfriend.