My bonds and connection with nature, as well as my profound interest for everything that is alive, came much earlier than my Bachelors degree in Biology. Growing up in a place like Brazil and being raised by the ocean were definitely the driving forces that pushed me into marine conservation. Before my graduation from Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), I worked for several NGOs in Brazil such as the Humpback Whale Institute and the Spinner Dolphin Center. In 2012 I joined an environmental consulting company to work mitigating anthropogenic impacts. Throughout the past years I acquired experience developing and coordinating environmental education programs in protected areas, collecting scientific data about endangered species, and assuring that oil and gas operations comply with Brazilian environmental law - as an onshore/offshore consultant for seismic operations. Seeking to access the debate and conservation efforts in other contexts, I also attended international conferences, participated in an exchange program in the US and volunteered for a research project in KwaZulu Natal, in South Africa. In 2013-2014 I obtained the MPhil in Conservation Leadership at the University of Cambridge -UK. The course approached issues from a trans-disciplinary perspective and strengthened my understanding of address conservation issues. I gained practical experience working with BirdLife International and Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI) during my Placement - as part of the Master Degree. The main objective was to investigate the necessary steps for CCI to successfully engage with art and artists to deliver conservation messages. The final product consisted of a report, a booklet with an overview of the issue and guidelines and a catalogue of artists to potentially engage with. Straight after graduation, late 2014, I started my PhD program at Oregon State University, where I am researching human and nature interactions with a particular focus on perceived obstacles to pro-environment behaviors.
My bonds and connections with nature came much earlier than my Bachelors degree in Biology. Growing up in a place like Brazil and being raised by the ocean were definitely the driving forces that pushed me into marine conservation. Before my graduation from Universidade Federal da Bahia (UFBA), I worked for several NGOs in Brazil such as the Humpback Whale Institute and the Spinner Dolphin Center. In 2012 I joined an environmental consulting company to work mitigating anthropogenic impacts on marine fauna. Throughout the past years I acquired experience developing and coordinating environmental education programs in protected areas, collecting scientific data about endangered species, and assuring that oil and gas operations comply with Brazilian environmental law - as an onshore/offshore consultant for seismic operations. Seeking to access the debate and conservation efforts in other contexts, I also attended international conferences, participated in an exchange program in the US and volunteered for a research project in KwaZulu Natal, in South Africa. In 2013-2014 I obtained the MPhil in Conservation Leadership at the University of Cambridge -UK. The course approached issues from a trans-disciplinary perspective and strengthened my understanding of address conservation issues. I gained practical experience working with BirdLife International and Cambridge Conservation Initiative (CCI). The main objective was to investigate the necessary steps for CCI to successfully engage with art and artists to deliver conservation messages. Straight after graduation, later in 2014, I started my PhD program at Oregon State University. During my PhD, I became interested in environmental psychology and the determinants of pro-environmental behaviors. I developed a multifaceted tool to investigate the origins of human-nature connections, and, through different studies, I also researched perceived barriers for pro-environmental behaviors in the US Pacific Northwest, discussing the role of individual behaviors and behaviors that promote systemic change.
