Coordination

Roberta Hesse is a PhD candidate in Social Anthropology at USP, holds a master’s degree in Social Anthropology from USP, and a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from USP. Currently, she is also an associate researcher at “Centro de Estudos Ameríndios (CEstA/USP)”. She carried out one research internships and an academic exchange year at the University of Cologne. She has also worked with project management at the Associação Anna Laura. Since April 2022, she has been part of the Mecila team as a fellows assistant.

+55 11 55740399 | 118
roberta.hesse@fu-berlin.de
Rua Morgado de Mateus, 615
04015-051 São Paulo, Brazil

Puo-an Francisca Wu Fu has a Master of Arts degree in European literatures from the HU Berlin (Humboldt University of Berlin) and is a current doctoral candidate in romance-language literature at the University of Potsdam. Prior to joining Mecila’s Berlin Office, she worked as a translator and interpreter, as well as in the International Affairs Office of the Excellence Cluster “Image Knowledge Gestaltung.”

She was the Centre’s Administrative Assistant in Berlin during the Preliminary Phase and joined Mecila’s academic staff in 2020.

puo-an.wu@fu-berlin.de
Freie Universität Berlin
ZI Lateinamerika-Institut
Geschäftstelle Boltzmannstr. 1
Raum 006 | 14195 Berlin, Germany

Mirka Slowik de Martinez holds a Licenciate in Literature from Universidad Mayor de San Andrés (UMSA) in La Paz, Bolivia, and Master of Arts degree in Romance Philology from FU Berlin. She has worked from 2010 until 2016 as a German Teacher at Goethe-Institut La Paz, from 2017 until 2022 at Goethe-Institut Berlin, and as a teacher trainer from 2013 until 2016 at Goethe-Institut La Paz and Goethe-Institut São Paulo. In 2022 she received a scholarship as a literary translator from the Literary Colloquium Berlin (LCB). She is a passionate in language learning and world literatures. She joined the Mecila coordination team as Administrative Assistant in December 2022.

mirka.slowik@fu-berlin.de
Freie Universität Berlin
ZI Lateinamerika-Institut
Projekthaus
Boltzmannstr. 1
Raum 006 | 14195 Berlin, Germany

Paula Brisolla Baldy is an undergraduate student in History at the University of São Paulo (USP). She was a scholarship student at the Ipiranga Museum’s Technical-Scientific Section for Education, Museography and Cultural Action. Her research interests are currently focused on the Tenentist and Modernist movements of the first half of the 20th century in Brazil. Since April 2025, she has been a member of the Mecila team as an intern.

+55 11 55740399 | 118
paula.baldy@fu-berlin.de
Rua Morgado de Mateus, 615
04015-051 São Paulo, Brazil

Iris Brochsztain is an undergraduate student in Social Sciences at the USP. During 2023, she participated in the Etnographic Laboratory for Technological and Digital studies (LETEC-USP) and, in 2024, she joined the Global-South and East Anthropology group (CANIBAL-USP). Currently, Iris is developing a research abouth the relation between ethnic minorities and states. Since June 2024, she has been part of Mecila’s team.

iris.brochsztain@fu-berlin.de
Centro de Difusão Internacional – USP
Av. Prof. Lúcio Martins Rodrigues, 310
Butantã, São Paulo – SP, Brazil

Lucas da Cunha is a Social Sciences student pursuing a bachelor’s degree at USP. In 2023, he was a visiting student at the Université d’Ottawa in Canada for one semester. He worked as a research assistant in the “Religions in the Contemporary World” research nucleus at CEBRAP. In June 2024, he joined the Mecila team in São Paulo as an intern.

lucas.cunha@fu-berlin.de
Centro de Difusão Internacional – USP
Av. Prof. Lúcio Martins Rodrigues, 310
Butantã, São Paulo – SP, Brazil

Nina Sarah Leibbrandt is an undergraduate student in Political Science at the Otto Suhr Institute of Political Science (OSI) of the FU Berlin. As part of her studies at the FU Berlin, she is currently working on her bachelor’s thesis about negotiating criminal justice during peace processes.

She joined Mecila’s Berlin Office in 2023.

n.leibbrandt@fu-berlin.de
Freie Universität Berlin
ZI Lateinamerika-Institut
Geschäftsstelle Boltzmannstr. 1
Raum 006 | 14195 Berlin, Germany

Vitória Zandonadi is an undergraduate student in Social Sciences at USP. In the first semester of 2023, she had the opportunity to participate in an academic mobility exchange program at Sciences Po, on the Reims campus in France. Currently, Vitória is developing a research project in Urban Anthropology. Since June 2024, she has been part of the Mecila team as an intern.

+55 11 55740399 | 118
vitoria.zandonadi@fu-berlin.de
Rua Morgado de Mateus, 615
04015-051 São Paulo, Brazil