Isabela has a unique blend of experience in monitoring, evaluation and learning (MEL), the design and implementation of aid projects, corporate partnerships and executive leadership training. She has a 25-year portfolio career spanning consultancies, academia, NGOs and she even worked in the oil sector in her early days. With a focus on the interface between sustainability and international development, her practice is based on the principle that we co-exist in a network of relationships and interdependent systems. Isabela is a skilled facilitator, certified in the Whole Person Approach (WPA). She uses participatory techniques to create a safe environment, engaging in ways that stimulates more in-depth and fuller responses.
A keen innovator, Isabela is always looking for opportunities to create new ways of working. She co-creates MEL activities that align with the teams and organisations’ multiple goals, reaching results that go beyond the MEL silos. In her recent work with INTRAC, Isabela has designed and led gender Agile Assessment Circles (AACs) as part of Christian Aid Ireland’s developmental evaluation. She has also worked with the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) to produce a feedback video from velfies (video selfies) for the African Liberal Network Women’s Leadership Programme. It served multiple purposes: evidence of progress markers for the MEL outcome maps, feedback to adjust the programme and identification of social media case studies.
Recently, Isabela co-founded ‘Learning from Women to Reimagine the Future’ and produced its first video series. She also works as a part-time academic, teaching future leaders the importance of embedding the sustainable development goals (SDGs) into professional culture and personal values. Isabela holds a dual B.Eng. Mechanical and Production engineering degree and a M.Sc. in Environment and Development. She has worked in in Africa, Latin America, Asia, and Europe. With dual citizenship (British/Brazilian), Isabela speaks fluent English, Portuguese and Spanish.