Ninfa Parreiras, Author, psychoanalyst. Ninfa Parreiras was born in Itaúna, Minas Gerais, and has lived in Rio de Janeiro for more than 15 years. She is the author of children’s literature: With the tide and the dream; The old lady of the coconuts; A sea of people; Things that come, things that go away; A roof of heaven and The enchanted hill. Master in Comparative Literature by the University of São Paulo – USP (2006), with the research: “Psychoanalysis of Toy in Literature for Children”. Graduated in Letters (1988) and in Psychology (1997), by Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro (PUC) – Rio de Janeiro. She is a Psychoanalyst of the Society of Psychoanalysis Iracy Doyle, Rio de Janeiro. Ninfa works in two different areas, marked by the presence of the word and subjectivity – Literature and Psychoanalysis; as a specialist in the National Foundation for Children and Youth Book (FNLIJ), since 1987. She is a teacher at Estação das Letras, RJ (since 2003) and is psychoanalyst at a clinic for children and adults. She is member of Letra Falante, a research group in children’s literature. She is the mother of three children.

Brenda Valensi, Creator and President of ArtRio. Vanansi studied art at EAV School of Visual Arts at Parque Lage and art history at PUC-RJ. She founded CRANIO, an innovative space for art and culture. Brenda is the president of ArtRio, which is in its seventh edition confirming the fair as one of the most important on the world art scene. The fair welcomed 52,000 visitors to view works shown by 50 galleries at Marina da Gloria, Rio de Janeiro. ArtRio is more than an art fair; it is a unique event where visitors can view art work by the great masters along side works by up-and-coming artists. ArtRio is active on the art scene throughout the year promoting new artists and galleries by supporting exhibitions and study opportunities. The event is creating an artistic legacy for the Brazilian people who, eager consumers of art and culture, visit the fair in large numbers.

Tonia Casarin, Entrepreneur, Teacher, TC alumna, Lemann Fellow. Tonia Casarin holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from PUC-Rio and a Masters degree in Education from Teachers College at Columbia University in New York, USA. She has worked in the public sector (government of the city and State of Rio de Janeiro) and private. She is currently a postgraduate professor at the Singularities Institute of São Paulo, a consultant in the education field and works in partnership with Stanford University in projects at FabLearn Lab in Rio de Janeiro. Passionate about children and emotions, Tonia focused her studies on emotional and social intelligence, and how to develop it in adults, adolescents and children. During her research, she learned that the first step in developing 21st century skills is knowing how to identify feelings. In this context, Tonia wrote the book “I Have Monsters in my Belly”, a tool for children to learn to identify their own emotions. The success of the book led to the idea of creating an app, soon to be released by the educator. Tonia is also transforming her book into a social-emotional learning system for early childhood, such as teacher training, teaching materials and information and coaching for parents. The artist collaborates with works and testimonies of collective experiences with contemporary indigenous art held in Roraima. Esbell runs a Contemporary Indigenous Art Gallery, opened to the community where he develops projects with the Xirixana people, inhabitants of the Yanomami Indigenous Reserve, Amazon forest region as well as various activities with the indigenous peoples of the savannah and mountains. In 2016, he was nominated for the PIPA Award, the highest prize in contemporary Brazilian art.

Jaider Esbell, Artist, writer and indigenous cultural producer of the Makuxi ethnic group. Esbell was born in Normandia, state of Roraima, in the northwest of Brazil and Amazon Forest. Before being an artist, a skill discovered in childhood, Esbell left his parents’ house in Roraima to finish school. Like all indigenous adolescents, he was then in contact with towns, cities and villages. Esbell worked to survive in the city for 8 months and would study at night in the public library to run for public calls from the federal office as an electrician. As an employee of Eletrobras (Federal Company of Energy), he is in contact with several activities beyond his functions like projects environmental education, socio-cultural activities, researches, as well as lead bilateral contacts between the Company and Indigenous Communities. At Eletrobras he reaches the top of his career for his role, receives several awards and makes a positive story in the entire state’s network. In 2010 Esbell decides to apply for a fellowship from the Ministry of Culture and he writes his first book. He starts to paint and since then, has traveled the world showcasing his art.

Séverine C. Martin-Hartenstein is the director of Columbia Undergraduate Programs in Paris. She earned her BA in Comparative Literature from Barnard College, and her PhD from Columbia University’s French Department.

Tom Masson was born in 1990, he currently lives and works in Paris / Montreuil. After a year of preparatory class in applied arts (specialty engraving) in Paris 11th, Tom Masson began a training at the Beaux-Arts in Rennes, but left to pusue studies in art history and curating. He graduated from the University of Rennes 2 as well as the Ecole du Louvre (Art XX and Research in Museology) where he conducted research on Artists’ Books (under the direction of Didier Schulmann and Camille Morando) and later on the Artist-run spaces (Edited by Francois Mairesse). He participated in events and conferences on this subject (Beaux-Arts de Paris, We-Run the Space conference). Tom Masson is a secretary of Homework-inc, a curatorial association that organizes exhibitions and contemporary art events. He has already participated in several solo and group exhibitions in Rennes and Paris.