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Samba to Strategy: Prioritizing Portuguese to Grow Georgia’s Brazilian Trade and Education Ties
July 10 at 4:00 pm – 7:00 pm
In Brazil, samba isn’t just a dance—it’s a cultural rhythm that blends Portuguese language and African roots, uniting a nation shaped by monarchy, colonialism, and centuries of diversity.
A giant in geography, economy, and population, Brazil is as complex as it is vibrant—from Afro-Brazilian traditions in the north to European influences in the south; from indigenous Amazon tribes to bustling cities like São Paulo and Rio. Yet through it all, Portuguese is the thread that binds.
Despite Brazil’s global clout, Portuguese remains under-taught in the U.S., often overshadowed by Spanish. That oversight means missing out—not just on connections across Lusophone markets from Europe to Africa and Asia—but also on building stronger business ties with Brazilian investors increasingly looking beyond Miami to places like Georgia.
Join Global Atlanta, the Brazilian-American Chamber of Commerce, and the Atlanta Global Studies Center at the offices of the Consulate General of Brazil for a dynamic discussion on why Portuguese matters—culturally, commercially, and strategically—for Georgia’s global future.
In Partnership With:
Agenda
3:45-4:pm | Registration
4pm-5pm | Future of Global Education – Perspectives from Brazilian Scholars
5pm – 5:30pm | Networking Break + Refreshments + Business Panel Registration
5:30pm – 5:45pm | Remarks + Cultural Performance
5:45 – 6:30pm | Business Panel + Discussion
7pm | Q&A + Networking + Dismissal
Language & Education Panelists
Dr. Evaristo Fernando Doria
Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University
Dr. Evaristo Doria is an award-winning educator at Georgia State University’s J. Mack Robinson College of Business, recognized with the 2023 Robinson College Business Faculty Recognition Award, the 2022 Georgia State University Instructional Innovation Award, and the 2020 Top Professor Master International Business Award. He has over 20 years of international senior executive experience at Fortune 100 companies and has co authored four books on business strategy.
Dr. Salomao De Farias
Robinson College of Business, Georgia State University
Clinical Associate Professor, IIB. Dr. De Farias is a professor of Marketing and International Business and holds a Doctor degree from the School of Economics and Business, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil. He has teaching experience in Brazil, in the Netherlands and in the United States. He was a Fullbright scholar in resident at and Central Piedmont Community College in North Carolina. His academic activities include coordinating the business graduate program at the university of Pernambuco (Ph.D. and MBA programs), member on the Marketing scientific committee for the Brazilian Academy of Management Meeting (ENANPAD), Area Committee member at CNPq federal Brazilian agency, Editor of BAR – Brazilian Administration Review, among others. Dr. De Farias was an exchange student at Vanderbilt University’s School of Management, Visiting Researcher at Auburn University’s College of Business and Georgia State University – Institute of International Business. His prior work experience includes retail, developing executive training programs, designing research projects, study abroad programs and coordinating grant proposals.
Dr. Cintia Araujo
FIPECAFI (Brazil)
Cíntia Araujo, Ph.D., holds a doctorate in Management from UNINOVE University (Brazil) and currently serves as an adjunct professor and researcher at the School of Accounting and Actuarial Sciences, Foundation Institute of Accounting, Actuarial and Financial Research (FIPECAFI) in São Paulo. Her teaching and research focus on Diversity and Human Relations Management, Racial Relations in the Workplace, Marketing, and Innovation.
With over 18 years of experience in the corporate sector, Dr. Araujo brings practical insights to her academic work. She previously worked at multinational companies such as Telefónica-Vivo and Accenture, where she led IT projects, managed teams, and specialized in leadership development and coaching.
Dr. Araujo has published in international peer-reviewed journals and presented at high-impact conferences, contributing to global discussions on race relations, diversity and inclusion, project management, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
Selma Boaventura
Student, Georgia State University
Selma Boaventura is currently a master’s student in Creative and Innovative Education at Georgia State University. Her work explores the intersection between art, language, and belonging in intercultural contexts. Drawing from her experiences as an immigrant, educator, and psychoanalyst, she investigates how creativity and embodied expression can support transformation, identity reconstruction, and connection across cultures.
Before coming to the U.S., she studied Education at the State University of Campinas (Unicamp) in Brazil and spent fifteen years working in public schools. Selma has always believed that meaningful change begins at the foundation—and that education plays a powerful role in shaping society.
In addition to her work in education, she also trained as a psychoanalyst. Her personal experience as an analysand and studying psychoanalytic theory deepened her understanding of how listening and language shape subjectivity. This led her to develop a practice that integrates psychoanalysis with educational and artistic inquiry.
Business Panelists
Danila Palmieri
Founder, Connect Solutions
Joe Farach,
Revenue Igniter
Joe Farach is a Cuban-born, U.S.-based executive and consultant with deep roots in Brazil, where he lived as a child and later founded a manufacturing business for an Indian firm. The son of a Brazilian mother, he grew up speaking Portuguese, Spanish, and English—language skills that proved essential in starting the Brazilian company and leading market expansion efforts in Brazil and Latin America. Joe also led Brazilian growth initiatives for global engineering firms such as Black & Veatch and S&B Engineers and Constructors. Throughout his career, he has conducted business in over 45 countries and held leadership roles across Latin America, including Venezuela and Mexico.
Joe holds a BSME from Cal Poly, an MBA from Villanova, a Master’s in Global
Management, and an Executive Program in General Management from Kellogg. A U.S. Navy veteran, Joe served as a submarine officer, bringing discipline and global insight to every engagement.
Leonardo Santos, MJV
Leonardo Santos is an executive with over 20 years of experience in data, integration, and digital transformation, leading large-scale initiatives across Brazil, Latin America, and the United States. Known for aligning technology with business outcomes, he brings a unique blend of strategic vision and deep technical expertise, driving the modernization of data architectures, scaling governance, and enabling value through AI and cloud ecosystems.
Throughout his career, Leonardo has established strong global partnerships with leading platforms, including Informatica, Salesforce, and Snowflake, helping organizations accelerate their journey toward trusted, governed, and actionable data.
His areas of focus include:
• Modern Data Architectures (IDMC, Snowflake, MDM, CDP)
• Scalable Data Governance, Quality, and Privacy
• Cloud Integration & Multicloud Strategies
• Translating Technical Complexity into Business Value
• Strategic Ecosystem & Alliance Building
Leonardo is recognized for his ability to bridge business strategy with execution, empowering companies to turn data into a real competitive advantage.
Musical Performance
Pepe Barcellos, Lecturer
Brazilian guitarist, composer, percussionist, and educator Pepe Barcellos from Rio de Janeiro has traveled the world leading Brazilian guitar and percussion workshops, providing interactive experiences for young learners. Barcellos has released two albums of original songs, composed music for film, theater, dance, and animation, and published and presented music education research at major international and national events. Over the last 15 years, he has toured globally, leading Brazilian music workshops in France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, the United Kingdom, Bermuda, and the USA, creating engaging and memorable experiences for students. In May 2023, Barcellos earned a Ph.D. in Teaching and Learning from Georgia State University. He has built a research career, focusing on musical creativity, student voice, and songwriting pedagogy. Currently, he is a Lecturer in Music Education at Penn State University, where he has presented research, shared his teaching practices, and performed at NAfME, MISTEC, GMEA, the Oxford Symposium, ANPPOM, ISME Latin American, and APME.
