Paula Santos, Brazilian educator, and tour guide is one of the most sought-after guides. She is also a professional simultaneous translator and is fluent in English and Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese. She is one of Brazil’s most engaging cultural experts. Paula has worked for many years in tourism that is truly socially and educationally engaging. She introduces and educates diverse groups of North Americans and Europeans to the complex culture of Brazil’s Northeast. She has also built solid partnerships relation with important Afro-Brazilian religious leaders and grassroots community Organizations.
As a professional translator, Paula regularly works with professional organizations both inside and outside Brazil, including the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), the Ford Foundation, WFP-UN (World Food Program- United Nations), the Guggenheim Museum, a UN- Latin America and Caribbean Climate Week 2019 (LACCW), among others.
She has worked with SIT Study Abroad programs in Brazil for more than 20 years, organizing and coordinating Race and Gender seminars, Sustainability and Social Justice program in Bahia, identifying partner NGOs for visits and service-learning opportunities, organizing and advising students on their Public Health and Community Projects, and organizing field activities, and excursions.
Her areas of expertise include Afro-Brazilian Culture, Religion, and Art.
Currently, she dedicates herself to educational tourism, recognizing that this is an important and essential tool for a culture of peace among the peoples of the world. Paula is on the board of TOBOSSIS – a non-profit non- governmental organization that focuses on gender and race. She is also on the advisory committee of Ogum’s Toques Literary Collective, which promotes contemporary Afro-Brazilian literature.