Team
Felicia Jennings-Winterle, MA
Founder and Educational Director
Felicia is from São Paulo and has lived in NYC since 2006. She graduated in Music Education from Faculdade Santa Marcelina, with a specialty in Psychomotor Education from ISPE-GAE and in music and movement for children from UNISA. She holds a master's degree in Music Education with emphasis in Cognition from New York University. Since 2009, Felicia has been teaching Portuguese (as Heritage and Foreign language) to children and teenagers through various initiatives. Among them, Felicia was the director at the first Brazilian Preschool in the US from 2009 to 2014, and from this practice she has developed specific didactic material and a philosophy for teaching and celebrating Portuguese as a Heritage Language (PHL). Felicia is the writer of a method of teaching spouses and family members, a method of literacy for little Brazilians, and recently, organized a pioneering academic publication in the area of PHL (all can be found here). She also has an article published in the Portuguese Language Journal (from Harvard University), and has presented workshops and papers at Georgetown University, Harvard University and other conferences about the Portuguese language. Felicia is the creator of the Day of Portuguese as a Heritage Language that had its inaugural celebration on May 16th, 2014 and of an Annual Conference for the debate themes of Teaching, Development and Maintenance of Portuguese as a Heritage Language, which will have its third edition in 2016.
Founder and Educational Director
Felicia is from São Paulo and has lived in NYC since 2006. She graduated in Music Education from Faculdade Santa Marcelina, with a specialty in Psychomotor Education from ISPE-GAE and in music and movement for children from UNISA. She holds a master's degree in Music Education with emphasis in Cognition from New York University. Since 2009, Felicia has been teaching Portuguese (as Heritage and Foreign language) to children and teenagers through various initiatives. Among them, Felicia was the director at the first Brazilian Preschool in the US from 2009 to 2014, and from this practice she has developed specific didactic material and a philosophy for teaching and celebrating Portuguese as a Heritage Language (PHL). Felicia is the writer of a method of teaching spouses and family members, a method of literacy for little Brazilians, and recently, organized a pioneering academic publication in the area of PHL (all can be found here). She also has an article published in the Portuguese Language Journal (from Harvard University), and has presented workshops and papers at Georgetown University, Harvard University and other conferences about the Portuguese language. Felicia is the creator of the Day of Portuguese as a Heritage Language that had its inaugural celebration on May 16th, 2014 and of an Annual Conference for the debate themes of Teaching, Development and Maintenance of Portuguese as a Heritage Language, which will have its third edition in 2016.
Luciana Lessa, PhD
Director of the research group about bilingualism and Portuguese as a Heritage Language
Luciana is from the countryside of São Paulo. She is a speech therapist, graduated from UNESP/Marília. She holds a master's and a doctorate in Linguistics from the Instute of Language Studies (Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem) at UNICAMP. In Brazil, Luciana worked as a speech therapist. Her major interest, in practice and research, was always towards the processes of language acquisition (oral and written). She currently lives in Atlanta, where her work is on questions that involve bilingualism - focused on Portugueses as a Heritage Language -, and teaching at Georgia State University. At Brasil em Mente, Luciana conducts the research group about bilingualism and Portuguese as a Heritage Language, which will promote courses of continuing education this year for teachers and other professionals involved, as well as publishing articles and studies.
Director of the research group about bilingualism and Portuguese as a Heritage Language
Luciana is from the countryside of São Paulo. She is a speech therapist, graduated from UNESP/Marília. She holds a master's and a doctorate in Linguistics from the Instute of Language Studies (Instituto de Estudos da Linguagem) at UNICAMP. In Brazil, Luciana worked as a speech therapist. Her major interest, in practice and research, was always towards the processes of language acquisition (oral and written). She currently lives in Atlanta, where her work is on questions that involve bilingualism - focused on Portugueses as a Heritage Language -, and teaching at Georgia State University. At Brasil em Mente, Luciana conducts the research group about bilingualism and Portuguese as a Heritage Language, which will promote courses of continuing education this year for teachers and other professionals involved, as well as publishing articles and studies.
Cristina Marrero, Library Director and founding member of the board
Cristina is from Argentina and is a naturalized Brazilian. She graduated from UFSC in Literature, started her master’s studies in Translation, but through her passion for children’s books and stories, she chose to follow the path of reading and studies of interpretation on her own. She loves to read to her two favorite listeners and to give voice to the characters is a pleasurable and fun task. She writes a column for the blog Brasileirinhos (www.brasileirinhos.wordpress.com) in which she makes adventures, discoveries and fantasies out of the Brazilian literature and gives suggestions and book reviews.
In addition, Cristina is the director of the Brazilian Children’s Library Patricia Almeida, coordinating its events and establishing partnerships with publishers and authors.
Email: biblioteca@brasilemmente.org
Cristina is from Argentina and is a naturalized Brazilian. She graduated from UFSC in Literature, started her master’s studies in Translation, but through her passion for children’s books and stories, she chose to follow the path of reading and studies of interpretation on her own. She loves to read to her two favorite listeners and to give voice to the characters is a pleasurable and fun task. She writes a column for the blog Brasileirinhos (www.brasileirinhos.wordpress.com) in which she makes adventures, discoveries and fantasies out of the Brazilian literature and gives suggestions and book reviews.
In addition, Cristina is the director of the Brazilian Children’s Library Patricia Almeida, coordinating its events and establishing partnerships with publishers and authors.
Email: biblioteca@brasilemmente.org
Patricia Almeida, Counselor
Patricia Almeida is from Rio de Janeiro. She is a journalist and works in the public service part of the Ministry of External Relations, was recently vice-consul at the General Consulate of Brazil in NY as chief of the department of assistance to Brazilians.
Founder and general coordinator of Inclusive – Inclusion and Citizenship, which received the Education prize in Human Rights and Autistic Pride in 2010. She is also the strategic coordinator of the Institute Meta Social, from the campaign “Being different is normal”, Honorary President of the DFDown Association from Brasilia and collaborator of the organization Down Syndrome International.
At Brasil em Mente Patricia fills the role of overseeing strategic and executive decisions, drawing on her experience in public service.
Patricia Almeida is from Rio de Janeiro. She is a journalist and works in the public service part of the Ministry of External Relations, was recently vice-consul at the General Consulate of Brazil in NY as chief of the department of assistance to Brazilians.
Founder and general coordinator of Inclusive – Inclusion and Citizenship, which received the Education prize in Human Rights and Autistic Pride in 2010. She is also the strategic coordinator of the Institute Meta Social, from the campaign “Being different is normal”, Honorary President of the DFDown Association from Brasilia and collaborator of the organization Down Syndrome International.
At Brasil em Mente Patricia fills the role of overseeing strategic and executive decisions, drawing on her experience in public service.
