Cassia Carvalho
Executive Director
Cassia M. Carvalho is the executive director of the Brazil-U.S. Business Council. She is an international development expert with over 20 years of experience in public policy, international relations and private-sector development in the emerging and developing economies of Latin America, Africa and Asia. She serves as an adviser for the governments of Brazil, the United States and others, as well as for multi-national corporations, multilateral agencies, international financial institutions and industry associations. Prior to joining the Council, Ms. Carvalho worked as global leader for corporate affairs at the headquarters of Vale SA in Rio de Janeiro, and before that served in various roles at the Millennium Challenge Corporation where she managed a portfolio of public-private partnerships across emerging countries. Ms. Carvalho has been a consulting adviser for multi-national companies on topics such as market entry, commercial diplomacy and sustainability strategies, among others. She was a visiting professor at Andrews University and has lectured at La Sierra University and the U.N. Staff College. She holds a master’s degree in international development and economics from the American University in Washington, DC. Ms. Carvalho also speaks several languages – English, Portuguese, French, and Spanish – and has lived extensively in Brazil, Mozambique, France, Switzerland and Japan.
Renata Vasconcellos
Senior Policy Director
Renata B. Vasconcellos is senior policy director at the Brazil-U.S. Business Council. She identifies and analyzes policy issues affecting U.S. business both in Brazil and the United States and is responsible for formulating and executing BUSBC’s policy agenda on behalf of our members. Renata, an attorney admitted to practice law in Brazil and in the United States (N.Y. and D.C.), worked in the international department of Ohio based law firm Porter Wright prior to joining BUSBC, where for 16 years she represented American, Brazilian and Latin American clients on a variety of trade issues, including antidumping, customs law and export controls. Renata holds a J.D. from the Universidade Federal Fluminense in Rio de Janeiro and a master’s degree in international business and trade law from the American University, in Washington D.C.
Pink Strasser
Administrative Assistant
Strasser joined the Chamber in 2013 as administrative assistant for the Americas Department. She is responsible for arranging high-level meetings and managing executive schedules. Strasser works closely with Corporate Programs on event coordination, with Finance on accounts payable and receivables, and with Legal on contracts. Prior to joining the Chamber, Strasser served as executive assistant at Albright Stonebridge Group’s office in Rio de Janeiro. She is proficient in English and Portuguese and holds a bachelor’s degree in Letters and Arts from the Pontifical Catholic University in Rio de Janeiro.
Monica de Bolle
Senior Advisor
Dr. de Bolle has over 15 years of experience working in Brazil, both as an academic and as a consultant for a range of Brazilian companies. She is currently a nonresident senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics and an adjunct professor at SAIS | Johns Hopkins University. Dr. de Bolle, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from the London School of Economics, began her career at the International Monetary Fund. She has coauthored a number of books on the global and Brazilian economies, including The State of the World Economy, Challenges and Responses: Essays in Honor of Pedro S. Malan (2014), The Future of Brazilian Manufacturing: The Deindustrialization Debate (2013), New Dilemmas in Economic Policy (2011), Financial Regulation Reform in the U.S.: New Global Architecture and the Brazilian Regulatory Context (2009), and How to Respond to the Global Financial Crisis? Economic Policies for Brazil (2009). She contributes regularly to major Brazilian newspapers, including O Globo and O Estado de São Paulo, on Brazil’s economy and economic policies. She is fluent in English and Portuguese.
Bill Morley
Senior Advisor for Congressional Affairs
Bill Morley helps manage the Council’s Hill strategy and engagement with Congress and the Brazil Caucus. He leverages his decades of experience building bipartisan support for trade, managing coalitions and crafting effective messaging and policy on US-Brazil relations to further the Council’s mission. Before founding the Altrius Group, LLC, a global consulting and advocacy group, Mr. Morley served as vice president for Congressional Affairs for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. As chief trade lobbyist for the Chamber, he developed and helped implement strategies for passing presidential Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with Chile, Singapore, Australia and CAFTA. Mr. Morley also enjoyed a successful career in public service as General Counsel and business liaison for U.S. Senator Arlen Specter (D-PA). Mr. Morley is an attorney by training and holds a law degree from UCLA Law, as well as a bachelor’s degree from Haverford College. He is fluent in English and Spanish and is conversational in Portuguese.
João Barroso
Resident Senior Advisor
João Barroso is the government affairs senior advisor for the Brazil-U.S. Business Council. Based in Brasilia, he serves as a resource for the Council’s Brazil-based member companies and as an advocate for our policy agenda before Brazil’s Congress, monitoring the activities and interacting with representatives of local, state, federal and regulatory agencies. Vested with leading outreach efforts to the new administration, João’s customized services to member companies include advising them on the potential government affairs’ implications of business situations and actions. An attorney with over 10 years of experience, João has extensive knowledge and involvement with Brazil’s ongoing dialogue between the private sector and the federal government’s executive, legislative and judiciary branches, and will use that experience to advise members.
Olimar Rivera Noa
Intern
Olimar is interning at the Brazil-U.S. Business Council where she is responsible for preparing the Council’s newsletters and sending important information to the Council’s members. She also conducts research on different topics relevant to the Council’s policy agendas. Olimar is a student at American University where she is pursuing a BA in International Studies with a focus on Global Economy in the Latin American region. She is proficient in Spanish, English, and Portuguese.