My main career driver has always been learning. I've pursued career opportunities based on what I could learn from that role and the team I'd work with.
Some years ago, after seeing many organizations fail because they were still building digital products like in the 90s, I decided to help organizations change how they work by evangelising design empirical evidence.
I came to this area because I was deeply passionate about it and the opportunities ahead. That has always stayed the same.
The MiudosSegurosNa.Net project (it stands for KidsSafeOnThe.Net) is Portugal's pioneering and leading Internet safety project. It helps Portuguese speaking families, schools and communities in promoting online safety of kids, tweens and teens since 2003.
I've been working pro bono as their Head of Technology since day 1.
Kiva is a non-profit organization that allows people to lend money via the Internet to low-income entrepreneurs and students with 0% interest. Kiva's mission is "to connect people through lending to alleviate poverty". I joined Kiva in August 2011 and made over 300 loans since.
Although I have diversified my portfolio throughout time, I still mainly lend to women in the Education, Food, Retail, Agriculture, and Services sectors with an emphasis on projects that empower people to escape poverty. Recently I've been focusing on loans to refugees / displaced people.
You can see my public lender profile here and the lending team I've created here.
Two years ago I started KivaHour, offering consultancy services for Kiva loans.
Over the years I've participated in multiple other projects and iniciatives through pro bono work, mentoring, volunteering, collaboration, etc for non profits, charities, social enterprises and startups in that spectrum.
In 2018 I joined a newly formed group of multidisciplinary professionals called The Ladder who were running (GV) Design Sprints for non-profits as a way to de-risk big decisions and solve critical issues with their products or services. Facilitating sprints at scale allowed me to hone in on my skills, train a new generation of designers, and test multiple improvements to the sprint format.
Looking for people interested in learning how to facilitate Design Sprints with 2h to 3h free per week.