Mariana’s passion is to empower people with the tools and skills they need so they can thrive when facing complex challenges.
Mariana is a certified Executive Coach in Leadership and Performance through Brown University. She holds a bachelor's degree in Pedagogy and a master's in Education with a concentration in Teacher Training from the Catholic University of São Paulo, Brazil—one of the most respected universities in Latin America. Her specialties include Paulo Freire’s critical pedagogy and adaptive leadership.
In the past 15 years, Mariana has held a variety of professional positions in the early childhood field which provided her with experiences in leadership and training. She was the Principal of a school serving children and families at risk in São Paulo, a trainer of teachers in Mozambique, Africa and a Director of Field and Community Development for an educational nonprofit organization working with refugees from Africa in Tel Aviv, Israel. During this last experience, she deepened her focus on trauma informed coaching, intervention and care.
In all of these positions, Mariana partnered with families, specialists and educators to innovate a vast array of trauma informed early childhood interventions for children with disabilities and/or from at risk situations. At the heart of her work is building authentic relationships with the multiple communities involved in complex situations.
Since moving to the United States, Mariana worked as a trainer, consultant and faculty member with Na’aleh – The Hub for Leadership Learning in Baltimore, MD and Leadership Baltimore in Baltimore City.
Currently Mariana is a leadership educator and adaptive learning facilitator with the Kagen Leadership Group where she provides experiential training with leaders throughout the country and is also an Associate with Coach Approach Partners where she teaches coaching mindset and skillset with leaders facing adaptive challenges. She is excited to join the Georgetown University faculty team to serve the Leadership module for the SCS Certificate in Early Intervention.