Before entering the world of advertising I already knew I loved writing, but I thought my path was to be a journalist. My love for music (and music videos) made me think that I could maybe build a career interviewing my favorite bands and writing about them. I also blame Almost Famous for that idea. So when the time to choose a profession came I studied Journalism and soon after college got a job as a reporter for one of Brazil's biggest newspapers. But the reality hit me, and it was a lot different than what I expected. Turns out I really liked writing, but I didn't love chasing the news.

Then advertising entered my life: the idea of merging writing with creativity seemed like a good thing to try, and it was so much more challenging and inspiring than I expected. Almost a decade later after entering this industry, what drives me as a creative is the challenge to find insightful ways to solve problems and to create change. Not just change in perception, brand recognition and sales numbers, but also change in our society and in our industry, in how we tell our stories, and in how we portray and include people.

Throughout my career, working at agencies such as TBWA in Brazil, Pereira & O'Dell and TBD in San Francisco, and also in-house for Intel, I got the chance to work on a lot of pro bono initiatives. Some of the campaigns I’m most proud of having been part of are around bullying, immigration, implicit bias in healthcare and female representation in politics. These are all important topics that a lot of people still choose to ignore, so to be able to use my craft to spark conversations around them is something really powerful and meaningful.

I try to use my work as a vessel to create change, but also work hard to create that change on a daily basis. As a woman in advertising, I hope to inspire people with my work and to inspire other women with my collaboration, my personal stories and my leadership.

I hope to be the mentor, the reference and the example that I didn't have in this industry. Throughout my career I had a couple of female creative directors, but all my mentors have been men. And I really want to change that and be someone who younger creatives can look up to. From talking to students and taking the time to review their portfolios and share my experiences to writing opinion pieces about our industry, I try to use every opportunity I have to pave a better way for women in advertising. And I really hope I can succeed doing that.

My work has been recognized by the One Show, D&AD and I’m proud to be the first female creative from Brazil to win the Future Lions Awards in Cannes. I also had the honor of being a judge in the New York Festivals Advertising Awards.