Veredas

About us

Veredas – Human Rights Strategies advises companies, institutions, public bodies, and civil society organizations engaged in protecting and enforcing human rights. Strategically, we offer customized and structural solutions for fair corporate practices and healthy work environments.

We can act in times of crisis, which require immediate responses, but we also provide detailed planning for medium and long-term solutions. Through action on four axes – Compliance, Governance, Engagement, and Training, we offer complete and integral solutions to each demand, relying, whenever necessary, on specialized partnerships.

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Members

Joana Zylbersztajn​

Joana Zylbersztajn

Mayra Cotta

Paulo Rená

Associated consulting

Giovanna Araújo

Giovanna Araújo

Compliance

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Giovanna Araújo is a lawyer from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul, with a semester of academic mobility at the Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, focusing on Political Science and Legal Sociology. She has experience in Criminal Law and Human Rights Compliance, as well as scientific research in Sociology of Law. LinkedIn.

Natália Maria Alves Machado

Natália Maria Alves Machado

Diversity and inclusion

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Natália Maria Alves Machado is a Ph.D. student in Anthropology, a Master in Law, and a Bachelor in Social Sciences with a Qualification in Anthropology from the University of Brasília – UnB and related communities, with a focus on Law, Politics, Memory, the Body, Epistemologies and Health. A Black woman from the Cerrado, she is the daughter of migrants from Minas Gerais and Ceará. Of direct black-indigenous ancestry from both lineages by way of countryside-forest-city and water, Natália has been active since the mid-2000s in various forms of activism and advocacy for Human and Socio-Environmental Rights. She was one of the drafters of the Amicus Curiae Action presented by Nosso Coletivo Negro to the Federal Supreme Court in support of ADPF 186. In recent years, she has dedicated herself to research and activism as a Person with Disabilities and for territorial rights, ethnic resumption, and improvement of affirmative actions/recognition rights. Lattes.

Vinícius Alves

Vinícius Alves

LGBTQIA+ rights, culture and audio-visual

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Vinícius Alves holds a Bachelor’s in Gender and Diversity Studies from the Department of Gender and Feminism Studies of the Faculty of Philosophy and Human Sciences at the Federal University of Bahia (FFCH-UFBA), a Master’s in the Postgraduate Program in Interdisciplinary Studies on Women, Gender, and Feminism (PPGNEIM-UFBA) and is and PhD student in the Postgraduate Program in Human Rights and Citizenship (PPGDH-UnB). Vinícius has worked on projects such as the Center for the Promotion and Defense of LGBT Rights in Bahia (2014-2015) and as general coordinator of LGBT Policies for the Government of the State of Bahia between 2015-2019. He was also a fellow tutor for the multicampus research “Clínica de PrEP 15-19” (ISC-UFBA/Fiocruz) and a collaborator on projects such as the Black Initiative for a New Policy on Drugs. He has been an LGBT activist for 14 years. He has been researching “fervo” as a circuit of using urban festivities as a form of participation and social and political engagement of young black people, women, and LGBT people from the outskirts. He is a collaborator at Rede Fora do Eixo, Mídia NINJA, Cine.NINJA and Casa Ninja Bahia.

Luma Nascimento

Luma Nascimento

Culture and audio-visual

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Luma Nascimento is a visual artist, pedagogue, and researcher on Brazilian ethnicity, alternative movements, and societies organized by black people. Her work encourages the production of narrative interpretations of Afro-ethnic diversity in Brazil’s internal and external culture. She has a degree in Pedagogy from the State University of Bahia – UNEB. She is the Official Ambassador of the Young Entrepreneurs Program in Portuguese-speaking countries with the AIESEC BR National Youth Pact in conjunction with A GERAÇÃO +2030. She participated in the​​education and social entrepreneurship programs of SEPROMI – Secretariat for the Promotion of Racial Equality of Bahia, together with the State Policy for the Promotion of Entrepreneurship for Black People and Women – (PENM). In 2018, she was a researcher at LABI – Interdisciplinary Laboratory of LGBTQIA+ Policies in Brazil, working on the construction of the laboratory responsible for managing digital data related to LGBTQIA+ policies. In 2019, she was selected by Gettyimages as one of 179 women for the ongoing global project #SHOWUS. A member of Coletivo Chão.ART, Luma is a Researcher, Cultural Producer, and Art Director at the Cine Arts Cinema School and Vice President of the traditional Bloco Afro Os Negões, a cultural group founded in 1982 that actively participated in founding the Brazilian Black Movement. In 2020, she took part in the CAPACETE Artistic Residency + Museu de Arte Moderna RIO with the publication of the research project “Me Despache”, a study of markets and open-air fairs in Bahia and Rio de Janeiro.

William Tomaz

William Tomaz

People with Disabilities (PwD) rights , inclusion and accessibility

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William de Souza Tomaz has a degree in Human Resources Management, a postgraduate degree in Libras – Teaching, Translation, and Teaching in Higher Education and Proficiency in Brazilian sign language – from the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC). An independent artist, he advocates for cultural accessibility and inclusive art. In 2018, he won the Cultura Viva award from the Secretariat of Culture and Creative Economy of the Federal District, recognition for his work in the cultural scene of the Federal District. He worked as a Libras teacher at the School of Financial Administration (ESAF). He was a collaborator in the Specialization course in Cultural Accessibility and the National Meeting on Cultural Accessibility (ENAC) held by the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). He was a university interpreter in undergraduate and postgraduate courses, reviewer, and supervisor of a team of workers with disabilities in Electronic Document Management (GED) projects at the Court of Justice of the Federal District and Territories (TJDFT), Regional Labor Court (TRT), Superior Electoral Court (TSE) and Anvisa, by CETEFE and Politec TI. He currently maintains a link with the Marista Institute in a project to train deaf people for the world of work. He is the creator/coordinator of the Surdo Cinema project with training for deaf people in the cinema, a cultural producer, manager, and accessibility consultant for events and artistic projects.

Patrícia Kodaíra

Patrícia Kodaíra

Environmental law, sustainability

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Patrícia Kodaira is an environmental lawyer with extensive experience in topics related to contaminated areas, environmental licensing, environmental civil liability, protected areas, climate change, solid waste, biodiversity, sustainable production chain development projects together with traditional communities, leadership suppliers and development arrangement’s location in the Amazon. Patrícia also works and publishes studies on solid waste (Solid Waste: a subject in increasing judicialization. DESIGN, WASTE & DIGNITY. São Paulo, Editora Olhares); Legal use of water in industry (Legal use of water in industry: Industrial processes in the Municipality of Jundiaí-SP. PNMA: 30 years of the National Environmental Policy. São Paulo: Official Press of the State of São Paulo) and in a new law of Sustainable Use of Biodiversity (Jota). Additionally, she worked with human rights and refugees in Cambodia and Greece, defending vulnerable populations and helping refugees seek asylum. LinkedIn.

Antônio José do Nascimento Ferreira

Antônio José do Nascimento Ferreira

People with disabilities (PwD) rights, inclusion and accessibility

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Antônio José do Nascimento Ferreira has a bachelor’s in Social Communication/Journalism from the Institute of Higher Education of Brasília (IESB) and a postgraduate degree in teaching in higher education from the Brazilian Faculty of Education and Culture/RJ. He was national secretary for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at the Human Rights Secretariat of the Presidency of the Republic, as well as municipal superintendent of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities or Reduced Mobility at the Municipal Secretariat for Human Rights and Affirmative Policies of the City Hall of Goiânia/GO, among other positions. With extensive experience in participatory management, Antônio José was a counselor for eight years at the National Council for the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (Conade) and served as its president for one term. He was also president of the National Organization of the Blind in Brazil (ONCB) and of the Pernambuco Social Assistance Council. He worked to mobilize for the approval of the Statute of Persons with Disabilities and the signing of the Marrakesh Treaty; coordinated the National Plan for the Promotion of the Rights of People with Disabilities – Living Without Limits; coordinated the 3rd and 4th National Conferences on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and annually participates in the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Julia Moretti

Julia Moretti

Urban law, sustainability

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Julia Azevedo Moretti has a Ph.D. in Law from the University of São Paulo (USP), a Master’s in Urban Law from the Pontifical Catholic University of São Paulo (PUC/SP), and a Master’s in Environment and Sustainable Development from the University of London (Development Planning Unit – DPU/UCL). Woman, mother, teacher, and lawyer who dedicates her professional and academic career to the design and execution of sustainability projects with social impact, combining legal knowledge with multisectoral processes guided by participatory practices. She worked at the Union Heritage Secretariat, providing legal advice for strategic projects linked to allocating and managing public real estate assets for land regularization, local development, and sustainable development of the seafront. She also has extensive experience in strategic popular advocacy in human rights, working in collective judicial and extrajudicial cases linked to the right to the city and housing. She is an assistant professor in the Contract Law specialization course at COGEAE PUC/SP, working on consumer contracts, private and public law contracts, diffuse law contracts, and sustainability. LinkedIn.

Partnerships

In the press

Maternidade: um desafio a mais para as mulheres no mercado de trabalho - Monitor Mercantil

Partners Joana Zylbersztajn and Mayra Cotta write an article about the challenges of motherhood in the job market and measures to reduce gender pay inequality.

IA: Aplicação no uso de dados deve evitar vieses - Valor Econômico

Paulo Rená, partner at Veredas, contributes to Valor Econômico’s article on the regulation of Artificial Intelligence in Brazil and the need to respect human rights.

 

BID Invest abre agenda da Semana de Sustentabilidade 2024 - Monitor Mercantil

Joana Zylbersztajn, a founding partner of the consultancy Veredas, spoke about “Managing complaints of gender-based violence and harassment”. Her lecture was based on the Guidance Note prepared by IDB Invest, with the consultancy as a partner for companies receiving project financing.

Decisão do STF dá mais proteção para vítimas de violência - Diário do Pará

Interview with Veredas partners about the STF decision that considers it unconstitutional to question the lives of women who are victims of violence.

Combate à discriminação e assédio nas empresas - Monitor Mercantil

The article” Combating Discrimination and Harassment in Companies” explains how the guidance note for managing listening and reporting channels was prepared. Veredas developed the work for IDB Invest.

A agenda das empresas e direitos humanos - Valor Econômico

Much has been said about “ESG”, an acronym that indicates companies’ environmental, social, and governance sustainability practices. What does this have to do with Human Rights?

Read the text published by partners Joana Zylbersztajn and Mayra Cotta in Valor Econômico.

O que é Bluewashing? - Proteste

Founding partners Joana Zylbersztajn and Mayra Cotta’s article, published in Revista Proteste, Latin America’s largest consumer protection association, discuss the term “bluewashing” and the deceptions sold in the S axis of ESG.

COP26: Julgamento nos EUA mostra futuro das empresas que vendem mentiras - UOL

Article by Mayra Cotta, Joana Zylbersztajn, and Manoela Miklos published in Leonardo Sakamoto’s column at UOL talks about the expected future for companies that continue to sell lies.

Compliance em direitos humanos - Estadão

The urgency of including human rights in compliance assessments by companies was the subject of an article by the founding partners of Veredas – Strategies in Human Rights: Joana Zylbersztajn, Mayra Cotta, and Manoela Miklos, published on 11/9/21 on Fausto Macedo’s blog, in Estadão.

Como coibir o assédio no ambiente de trabalho? - Marie Claire

Mayra Cotta participated in the sixth edition of the largest female leadership meeting in Brazil, the Power Trip Summit, and discussed companies’ treatment of cases of sexual and moral harassment of women at work.

Por que ainda perguntar o que ela estava vestindo? - Vogue

Mayra Cotta gives an interview to Vogue magazine and talks about her recently released book “Mulheres, Roupa, Trabalho” (Ed. Paralela)

Veredas chega ao mercado para levar dignidade e “ambiente sadio” às relações de trabalho - Revista Poder

Special note from Revista Poder about Veredas, explaining a little about our services and how they fit into the scenario in which the market calls for evolution in relationships and work environments.

Novas Veredas - Folha de São Paulo

Column “Direto da Fonte”, by journalist Sonia Racy, announces the launch of Veredas.

Jeito Diferente - Correio Braziliense

Notice in the “Visto, Lido e Ouvido” Column, in the printed version of Correio Braziliense and Ari Cunha’s Blog, in the same newspaper, announces the launch of Veredas and the consultancy’s proposals.

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