Bruna Benevides and Natalia Viana have joined the Conectas advisory board
Conectas Human Rights is pleased to announce the addition of two new board members and associates: Bruna Benevides and Natalia Viana. Both are joining the organization to contribute to strategic guidelines, institutional policies and financial affairs.
“I am very honored to join the Conectas board. The organization is undoubtedly the leading reference in human rights in Brazil and it has done essential work in defending democracy both in Brazil and abroad. I hope to help Conectas continue to grow and have an impact and I also look forward to learning a lot from its professionals. As a journalist covering human rights violations, I have always followed the work and data produced by Conectas. It will be a pleasure to contribute.” Says Viana.
Benevides sees Antra’s participation on the board at Conectas to be essential: “It demonstrates our ability to engage in broad coordination, involving various movements that, while focused on their own agendas, collaborate with other causes.” So, “my joining Conectas, an internationally recognized institution, means Antra, represented by me as the president, is positioning the struggle of trans and travesti people at the center of other issues, such as the fight against racism, environmental protection and the defense of fundamental social, political, and economic rights.”
According to Camila Asano, Executive Director of Conectas Human Rights, the arrival of Bruna and Natália represents a significant advancement for the organization. “With their remarkable careers and unwavering commitment to the defense of human rights, both bring extensive experience and a renewed perspective to Conectas,” says Asano.
Find out more about the advisors:
Bruna Benevides: President of the National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals (ANTRA). Antifascist activist, Sergeant in the Brazilian Navy, travesti, feminist. Founder of Marsha Trans Brasil. Coordinator of the annual research on violence against the Trans population since 2017 and researcher on trans people in elections and political violence. She has published research on the situation of trans people in the prison system and guides on safety for the LGBTQIA+ community. Deputy coordinator of the LGBTQIA+ Legal Clinic at UFF (Fluminense Federal University) and of the Preparanem Niterói social preparatory course since 2016. Full member of the National Council for Women’s Rights. She was awarded the Marielle Franco Medal for Human Rights by the Niterói City Council and the Citizen Woman Diploma by ALERJ (Legislative Assembly of Rio de Janeiro). She was named one of the 100 pioneering women in political leadership by Women of the World (WoW) and won the Faz Diferença Award from the O Globo newspaper, Niterói RJ. She featured in the Billboard Over30 list and among the 100 LGBTQIA+ professionals shaping desirable futures.
Natalia Viana: Co-founder and Executive Director of Agência Pública. She is the author and co-author of five investigative books. Her most recent work is Dano Colateral (Collateral Damage, published by Objetiva), which focuses on civilians killed by the Army. She was a finalist for the Shining Light Award by the Global Investigative Journalism Network, received the Human Rights Journalism Award, and earned an honorable mention in the Vladimir Herzog Award for Amnesty and Human Rights. As a reporter and editor, she has won numerous journalism awards, including the Vladimir Herzog, Comunique-se, Troféu Mulher Imprensa, Gabriel García Márquez, and the Ortega y Gasset awards. In 2018, she was recognized as a social entrepreneur by the Ashoka network and joined the Board of Trustees of the Gabriel García Márquez Foundation. She is a Nieman Fellow at Harvard University and a member of the Advisory Board of the Center for Media Integrity at the OAS.
