Biography

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Carolina has a decade of experience working at the United Nations, at the headquarters in New York, and on UN peace-keeping missions.  In Timor-Leste, she was involved in the development of small divisions of government and their consequent transformation into full-fledged ministries.

For the newly created Ministry of Finance, she established the country’s first customs office, setting up 12 customs posts on the border with Indonesia (West Timor). She also trained a team of 50 civil servants and launched the first management program for the newly-created Civil Service.  Her mission ended with the declaration of independence of Timor-Leste on May 20, 2002.

She launched first-ever micro credit initiative in East Timor, as part of World Bank / UN’s effort to support establishment of nation, and was directly responsible for execution of a $13-million program, spread over 400 projects from the manufacturing processes industry to passenger transportation.

Carolina’s next political mission to the UN was in Baghdad during the US war in Iraq. Following the fall of Saddam Hussein, she organized the first Transitional Justice in Baghdad with the participation of more than 20 international NGOs in early July 2003.

She worked on developing public policies for the employability and economic rights of widows as part of the human rights portfolio. She also coordinated preparations for the first International Donors’ Conference for Iraq (suspended because of the bombing). Carolina survived the terrorist attack at the UN office in Baghdad in 2003 and had to fight PTSS (Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome) caused by the bombing attack.

Achievements

* Order of Timor-Leste, for her contributions to the country and the people of Timor-Leste, 2012.
* Brazil´s Criativa Magazine’s “Women Who Made a Difference in 2008” award, for work as social entrepreneur.
* 2005 Women of the Year Award, for Human Rights, by the National Council of Brazilian Women, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
* Harvard Award for Academic Merit (2009), and the Amalia Lacroze de Fortabat Award on Achievement (2009)

She holds a Masters in Public Administration at the Harvard Kennedy School (the school of government that belongs to Harvard University). At Harvard, she was also a Mason Fellow. She has another Masters degree in International Relations from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University. Her undergraduate degree was in Economics and Finance at the City University of New York.  She worked as an Associate Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy (also at Harvard University), focusing on new sources of insecurity facing organizations active in conflict areas, and the emerging threat of terrorism to international organizations. She continues to work in Brazil and Argentina to work on human rights, public policy, and leadership issues.