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Vera do Val Galante:  Holds an MA in American Studies from The College of William and Mary in
the US as a Fulbright scholar. She worked at the Public Affairs Section of the US Embassy in Brazil for 19 years as Senior Cultural Affairs Specialist, preparing and carrying out projects according to the US Mission in Brazil’s priorities, proposing and negotiating agreements, coordinating projects and teams, serving as liaison between the governments of the US and of Brazil, between the government of the US and civil societies of both countries, and the private sectors of both countries to advance topics of US foreign policy. In order to reach the goals proposed, it was necessary to identify and develop strategies to carry them out, develop and maintain contact with all segments of society and preparing reports, analysis and papers in order to better guide the diplomatic corps in Brazil, as well as the US Department of State in their decision making in relation to the policies developed for and in Brazil.

Benício Viero Schmidt:  Has a degree in Law from PUC-RS (1967), an MA in Political Science from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG-1970), a PhD in Political Science from Stanford University (1979) and a Post Doc from Université de Paris I (1992-94). He taught Sociology at UFMG, the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and was a Full Professor of the University of Brasília, where he retired (1982-2008). Dr. Schmidt founded, directed and was a professor at CEPPAC/UnB (Center for Research and Graduate Studies about the Americas, 1998-2008. He Directed DATA-UnB (1997-2004), was President of FAP-DF (Research Foundation, Federal District), area representative (sociology)  at CNPq (1984-86), Coordinator for International Cooperation at CAPES (2004-2007), Director of the Department of Legal Research of the National Council of Justice (CNJ - 2008-9), Coordinator of Evaluation of Public Policies (Agrarian Reform in Brazil, MDA/DATA-UnB); Evaluation of the Scholarship Program for underprivileged families (MEC/DATA-UnB), several evaluation projects of PLANFOR (MTE/DATA/UnB). Consultant for the World Labor Organization. Author of several books on urban policies, agrarian reform, Brazilian education policies and of several articles on public policies, economic crises, international politics, published in French, English, Portuguese and Spanish. Consultant for UGT (General Union of Labor). Dr. Schmidt is currently Director and Editor of Publishing at FRANCIS and VERBENA (www.verbenaeditora.com.br)..

Luis Henrique Pedroso: Holds a Master of Science in International Defence and Security
from the Defence Academy of the United Kingdom, Cranfield University. He is a 2015/16 FCO's Chevening Scholar and the organiser of the First International Relations Online Congress in Brazil, CORI. Former Program Coordinator at the Fulbright Commission in Brazil, Luis was also an intern at the US Embassy in Brasilia. Luis holds a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations from “Centro Universitário do Distrito Federal (UDF)”, and is an alumnus of the Birkbeck College, University of London, City University and Colégio Militar de Porto Alegre. Responsible for the updating of the UK's Ministry of Defence strategic Security Sector Horizon Scanning 2017 - East Africa, Luis research focuses on international security and defence, conflict resolution and crisis management.

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