She holds a Master’s degree in Political Sciences by IFCS/UFRJ and a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations by Universidade Estácio de Sá. In the past ten years she worked for the organization Federação de Órgãos para Assistência Social e Educacional (Fase) in basic training, popular education and building networks and coalitions in the area of international trade, regional integration, as well as environmental and climate change. For the Foundation she monitors the negotiations of the UN Conference on Climate Change (UNFCCC), in particular the issues of Adaptation and Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). She organized research groups on the High Level Panel of Food Security of FAO, that recently produced a study on climate change and food security.
Maureen Santos is the program coordinator for environmental and social justice in the office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation in Brazil.