PEOPLE AND CULTURE
Meet the team behind Sinergia
Carolina Galvani
Founder and Executive Director
After working for more than 10 years as an undercover journalist in more than 30 countries and witnessing the worst horrors in factory farms, slaughterhouses and industrial fishing operations, Carolina Galvani decided to found Sinergia Animal. Being Brazilian, her main motivation was to bring advances to animals exploited by livestock farming in countries in the Global South, where she knew that almost nothing was done for this purpose. Carolina is also a board member of Sinergia Animal.
Our Governance Board
Our Governance Board is responsible for overseeing our work, strategy, mission and sustainable growth, promoting trust and transparency.
Anton T. Schweiger
Studied ecology in Vienna and has been a vegetarian/vegan since 1989. He was one of the first to investigate and video-document chicken battery farms and was involved in making Austria's supermarkets commit to going "cage-free", back in the 90s. He has since accumulated over 30 years of experience in nature conservation, animal welfare, and human rights. He has worked in African national parks, led high-profile lobby campaigns on banning GMOs in Europe and for many years has been involved in the fight to preserve the Amazon in Brazil. He is one of Sinergia's co-founders.
Carolina Galvani
After working for more than 10 years as an undercover journalist in more than 30 countries and witnessing the worst horrors in factory farms, slaughterhouses and industrial fishing operations, Carolina Galvani decided to found Sinergia Animal. Being Brazilian, her main motivation was to bring advances to animals exploited by livestock farming in countries in the Global South, where she knew that almost nothing was done for this purpose. Carolina is also a board member of Sinergia Animal.
Eduarda Nedeff
Eduarda Nedeff graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing from the University of the Itajaí Valley in Brazil and has a postgraduate certificate from George Brown College in Canada. After working in the marketing sector for over six years, she joined the animal protection movement in 2016 with a focus on campaigns, corporate engagement, strategies, development, and management. She has been involved in driving forward animal welfare policies that have been adopted by leading companies in Latin America, Asia, and globally (including McDonald’s, Burger King, Krispy Kreme, Minor International, Carrefour, and Dunkin Donuts).
Marcela Borges
Marcela is a lawyer with 15 years of experience in corporate law. Since 2019, she has been actively involved with animal advocacy. Her dedication to the movement has led her to attend various fundraising and development programs, workshops, and strategic planning initiatives aimed at promoting dietary change, animal welfare, and advocacy, with organizations including Anima International, Proveg International, The Pollination Project Foundation, Beyond Carnism, and Scarlet Spark. Marcela works as a Director of Strategic Development at Sociedade Vegetariana Brasileira - SVB and as a Coordinator at the Pollination Project Foundation. Recently, she joined Thrive Philanthropy’s Board. Marcela’s contributions as a volunteer coordinator and fundraiser—including successfully securing a few international grants for a sanctuary—have significantly benefited animal advocacy organizations.
Nicolas Entrup
Born in Austria, Nicolas has 30 years of experience in animal and nature protection campaigning. Since 1999 he has focused on marine protection and conservation issues and is currently the Director of International Relations at the international marine conservation organisation OCEANCARE. In 2010 he co-negotiated the “Declaration of Rights for Cetaceans: Whales and Dolphins” at the university in Helsinki, Finland. Furthermore, in 2011 he founded his own Campaigning Agency SHIFTING VALUES. Some of his focus areas are working towards an end of hydrocarbon exploration, reducing the ecological footprint of shipping, but also the role of International Finance Institutions (IFIs) within the farm animal sector.
Our Leaders
Cristina Diniz
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Cristina was born in Brazil and joined Sinergia in 2023. She currently lives in São Paulo, and has previously lived in six different countries while working for social impact projects, having worked for NGOs and managed social business for the past 13 years. Cristina graduated from International Relations (2014) and has a Postgraduate degree in Social Change Management (2018). Her specializations are in Coaching, Philosophy of Complexity, community and movement building, and team management.
Debora Lot
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Débora is a Brazilian lawyer postgraduate in environmental law and sustainability. Débora has always been involved in the animal rights cause and has been a vegan advocate for more than 20 years. For 4 years, she was a member of the OAB (the BAR Association in Brazil) Animal Protection and Defense Commission of a city in Brazil, whose responsibilities included investigation of animal abuse and mistreatment and working on legislative changes regarding animal welfare. As a member of that Commission, Débora held lectures on veganism and animal law. Before joining Sinergia Animal in 2022, Débora done projects as a legal consultant for another international organization that works on ending cruelty to farmed animals.
Fernanda Vieira
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Before joining Sinergia, Fernanda worked for Humane Society International in Brazil as an Animal Welfare Specialist, Corporate Policy and Program Manager, and Food Policy Manager. She has more than 15 years of experience in animal science and has worked for more than 9 years in the animal protection movement, being one of the first activists in Brazil to work with companies and institutions to implement better animal welfare policies. She also holds a Master's in Animal Production from the São Paulo State University and a Ph.D. focused on Animal Welfare from the São Paulo University.
Lúcia Gomes Pereira
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Lúcia has been working with multicultural teams since 2010 and has constantly mixed technology with social responsibility. She is a graduate of Information Systems at the Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil, and holds an MBA in BI, Digital Marketing, and Data-Driven Strategy. When working in the IT industry, she made accessibility the top priority, ensuring more people could use the systems and guaranteeing that they were inclusive. Since she started working at non-profits, Lúcia has made sure to apply her IT knowledge, introducing her teams to different tools to advance the campaign work and launching one of the first chatbots for corporate campaigns.
Romina Viscarret
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Romina is an Argentinian former dive instructor and underwater photographer. She’s been a vegan advocate for 11 years and is part of different NGOs and activism groups. During that time, she coordinated a project to end horse traction and was part of diverse animal rescues – of chickens, pigs, and monkeys. Romina has been working at Sinergia Animal in Argentina since 2019. As part of her role, she has been in contact with companies and local and international media to raise awareness about how animals are treated in the food industry.
Thai Costa
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Thai is a Brazilian, LGBTQIA+, Human Resources professional. With more than 10 years of experience, she has worked with talent acquisition, talent management processes, talent review, leadership development, organizational development, and as a business partner for finance and supply chain departments. Before joining Sinergia Animal in 2021, she had experience in multinational corporations from different sectors, and, during a world travel sabbatical, she started a company focused on helping people relocate for jobs.
Lyda Durango
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Colombian journalist and writer with postgraduate degrees in Marketing and Political Studies and over years of experience in marketing and communications management Founder of El Reportero Animal a pioneering media outlet for animal protection Vegan and dedicated animal rights activist Recipient of Colombias Life Distinction Award Joined Sinergia Animal over a year ago and now leads the organizations work in Colombia.
Amanda Kamanchek
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Amanda Kamanchek is a journalist by training with a solid background in civil society organizations, strategic communications, and social impact causes. Most recently, she worked at Greenpeace Brazil as Communications Manager, where she led the press, institutional, and creative teams, focusing on strategic alignment, creativity, and team motivation. Prior to that, she served as Senior Gender, Diversity, and Inclusion Officer at the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) in Brasília. Amanda also directed the impact campaign for the documentary Incompatível com a Vida, which won the top prize at the It's All True festival, and directed the film Chega de Fiu Fiu (Enough with the Catcalling). She has managed communications for Think Olga, UN Women, and the Polis Institute.
Saneekan Rosamontri
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Saneekan has over years of experience with the UN NGOs and the private sector specializing in advocacy communications research program development and resource mobilization She possesses market knowledge across the AsiaPacific the Middle East and Africa with extensive experience in Thailand She holds an MBA from Shenandoah University USA and a BA in Sociology Anthropology from Thammasat University Thailand She brings her academic background strategic vision and experience to drive social impact In her free time she enjoys playing music and swimming
Jacqueline Guzmán
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Jacqueline is an animal rights advocate based in Buenos Aires, Argentina, with over eight years of experience in the animal protection movement.
She has worked across grassroots and strategic advocacy, developing educational programs in underserved communities, with a focus on accessibility, environment, and social justice.
She holds a background in Philosophy and has collaborated with both local and international organizations, serving in roles such as Project Manager and Campaign Director. Her approach combines ethical commitment with strategic expertise, supporting the development of inclusive and effective campaigns for systemic change.
Shammy Coello Jairala
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Shammy Coello Jairala is the Managing Director Latam at Sinergia Animal and a prominent figure at the intersection of social activism transformative education and project management As an engineer specializing in leadership and organizational development she has over years of experience leading high impact international projects She has worked in various countries driving transformative initiatives and building alliances for change She advocates for animal protection in production and consumption systems emphasizing justice social responsibility sustainability and compassion As an international speaker she invites audiences to rethink how we lead change processes with purpose
Arie Utami
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Arie currently lives in Bekasi (Greater Jakarta), Indonesia. A communications graduate with over 19 years of experience in campaign strategy, movement building, environmental advocacy, and public and youth engagement across various civil society organizations in Indonesia, Arie has worked for a number of non-profit organizations, including local NGOs like Yayasan CERAH, a network of the Global Strategic Communication Council (GSCC), and international organizations like Greenpeace.
Our Culture Pillars
The word “Sinergia” means “The combined power of a group of things when they are working together, which is greater than the total power achieved by each working separately.” This is the philosophy that defines our organization.
Cultivating a strong and intentional organizational culture is paramount in realizing our mission to champion the well-being of farmed animals. At the core of this culture are our Culture Pillars — principles that shape our identity and guide our behaviors, grounded in the key values that drive our daily actions and decisions. These pillars are:
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Sinergia Animal is energetic and proactive, driven by the desire to end animal suffering through effective advocacy and ethical actions. We approach our work with (com)passion, integrity, and relentless effort to achieve our mission.
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We embrace change and adversity as catalysts for persistence, resilience, creativity, and progress in our mission to advocate for farmed animals, despite the challenges and misunderstandings surrounding our cause.
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Together, as a diverse, inclusive, and unified team, and as an organization committed to collaboration, we amplify our impact for animals beyond what we could achieve alone. We prioritize open communication, mutual respect, and a shared purpose as we foster a synergistic global movement to protect farmed animals.
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Through a culture of continuous learning, resilience, autonomy, inclusiveness, and proactivity, we empower individuals from the Global South and marginalized groups to emerge as leaders in the movement.