Be good.
Do good.
I was born in a developing country with a number of social issues. But, by chance, I was born into a privileged family. Growing up in Rio made me acutely aware that our success is not always a product of our own doing.
There are many people in this world who haven’t received the same opportunities I have. Because of this awareness - beyond donating charities which are proven to be efficient, and effective - I make a conscious effort to work with people and brands who aim to create a better and more inclusive society.
With Deloitte’s support, I have led 5 pro-bono projects from design through to build for NFPs. In Los Angeles, these projects have included organisations in the STEM education space as well as homelessness and poverty alleviation. In Australia, my pro-bono project was with cancer patients and their families.
Social issues are intrinsically human-centred.
Some of the ways I’ve helped.
NFPs.
Helping organisations with their design and communications planning. In Brazil, I volunteered for an organisation fighting extreme poverty in South America. I was part of the comms team, but also conducted field research, and was hands-on assembling wooden made houses in slums in Rio.
Small business.
I worked on a project with a lovely lady I met in Kenya. She is a tourist guide who wanted to set up her own business in Nairobi, organising safaris and guided hikes to Kilimanjaro. She only needed a jump start - Heri Africa is up and running!
Empowering woman.
I co-founded a social meetup in Brisbane for woman in design. I organised the events and speakers, as well as running workshops myself. The group is run in cities worldwide, seeking to make the world of business, tech and design more inclusive for females.
Kids and tech.
Research demonstrates gender stereotypes are cognitively defined from the age of 5-7. By teaching children about technology at a young age, I hope the industry can become more diverse in the future. I was a mentor at CoderDojo and gave a talk on what designers do.