I'm a social impact strategist whose career spans finance, philanthropy, and program design. At Goldman Sachs, I led initiatives including the 10,000 Small Businesses Access to Capital program and the deployment of over $1.5 billion in catalytic capital through social impact investments and public-private partnerships, reaching tens of thousands of small businesses and underserved communities. I've built programs alongside foundations, government agencies, and corporations — translating complex stakeholder environments into initiatives that create measurable change. Born and raised in Brazil, my personal experience with the transformative power of education and capital is what drives my work and what I bring to the classroom.
What will students be able to take away from your classes?
You'll leave my class knowing how to build something that matters, not just in theory, but through the experience of doing it. You'll learn frameworks like Effectuation Theory and Theory of Change, and then you'll apply them to a real social venture or nonprofit facing real challenges. But the deeper takeaway is learning to operate when there's no playbook: how to navigate stakeholders who see the world differently, how to structure capital that's complex and blended, and how to make decisions when the stakes are high and the path isn't clear. That capacity will serve you in whatever you build next.
What attracted you to the Keller Center?
What makes the Keller Center rare is that it doesn't treat entrepreneurship, design, engineering, and social impact as separate disciplines, it holds them together. Most academic programs ask students to specialize early. Keller does something harder, but more exciting: it asks students to integrate across engineering, humanities, and real-world problem solving. With the Entrepreneurship Minor, that integration is only going to deepen. And the community itself - the faculty, the students, the emphasis on learning by doing - creates an environment where ideas don't stay theoretical. They get tested, challenged, and built into something real. That's what inspired me to come here.
What advice would you have for students about getting involved at the Keller Center?
Don't wait until you have it all figured out. The Keller Center is designed for students who are curious about building something meaningful but aren't sure what that looks like yet. Some of you will start companies. Others will design programs inside organizations, shape policy, or lead social ventures. The common thread isn't a specific career path - it's the willingness to engage with real problems and real stakeholders. Come with your questions, not just your answers. The most interesting ventures I've seen in my career started with someone saying "I don't know how to do this yet, but I want to try."