The path is made along the journey

My education is multidisciplinary: it started with an undergraduation in Psychology (Brazil), went on with my graduation as Ergonomist (France) and later on with a PhD in Public Health (Brazil). For ten years I have had an academic position as a professor, researcher and advisor at the Faculty of Public Health of the University of São Paulo, Brazil.

I have developed passion and expertise doing academic and private researches, consultancy work; being part of government committees; and chairing study groups for Brazilian standards related to social development.

My online advocacy is a relevant part of my daily life and as an online citizen. I moderate or manage several networking groups, mainly focusing on fair trade, eInclusion and universal design.

In these areas, I do believe I know quite well the needs, challenges, stakeholders and (some of the) best practises in policy design and implementation, in public, private and third sector stakeholder engagement - particularly in the Southeast region of Brazil.

Welll..., that´s for the official and published bio!

The personal and affective path seems hard to summarize and post in a dozen lines, but I will try!
I started my career working with juv youth starting their first jobs in a public service; I moved on to working as a psychologist in a multidisciplinary team dealing with teenagers (ages 14-18) living in public institution due to minor felonies, some arrests and alike. These were very tiring and challenging times..., that gave me long-lasting experience and learning about how to implement well technical proposals, the challenges of team work, public policies regarding social welfare, social development, public safety, public administration.
The next job was as a trainer of in-company courses focusing on health and safety at work. Very disappointed and shocked with the working conditions and enterprises´ policies about them, I refused to accept that reality as a not-changing one and looked for qualification abroad - as an Ergonomist. A few decades later, that move still marks my life and my career. In spite of great barriers (foreign language; living on a scholarship and abroad) it proved a game-changing step: where I learned I could and how to change existing conditions into better ones.

Since then I am a strong believer that one can choose better ways of doing one´s job, improve one´s life and career, and make a difference!
No matter the size of it.
It is not easy, that´s sure.
But it is rewarding and inspiring.
And, sometimes, we cannot but follow this path... And insist on it!
More than schools, daily, long-life learning is a must.
Joining efforts and gathering strenght from others´ experiences is a major breakthrough.