Education & Territoriality

Maria Luiza Süssekind is a CNPq Research Productivity Fellow (2026), professor, researcher, consultant, speaker, and curriculum designer. She has been a Professor in the Department of Didactics at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO) since 2009 and a faculty member of its Graduate Program in Education since 2014. Since 2025, she has also been a Professor in the Master’s Program in Health Surveillance at Universidade Iguaçu (UNIG).

Marcelo Mocarzel, CNPq Research Productivity Fellow (PQ – Level C) (2025–2028). FAPERJ "Young Scientist of Our State" Fellow (2023–2025 and 2026–2028). He is an Adjunct Professor at the Rio de Janeiro State University (FEBF/UERJ). He is a Full Professor and Director of Graduate Studies, Research and Extension at the Serra dos Órgãos University Center (Unifeso). He is an Assistant Professor in the Graduate Program in Education at Estácio de Sá University, and a Full Professor in the graduate programs at Iguaçu University.

Reis Friede holds a PhD in Public Law from UFRJ, a master's degree in State Law from UGF, and a master's degree in Public Law from UFRJ. He is a Federal Appellate Judge, a former full member of the Regional Electoral Court of Rio de Janeiro (TRE), and a former member of the Public Prosecutor's Office. He is Professor Emeritus at the Army Command and General Staff School (ECEME) and the Army Officer Advanced School (EsAO), Professor Honoris Causa at the Air Force Command and General Staff School (ECEMAR), Professor of Constitutional Law at the Rio de Janeiro State School for Judges (EMERJ), Associate Professor at the Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro (UNIRIO), and founder of the Master's Program in Law at UNESA/RJ.

Maria Geralda completed postdoctoral research in Public Policy and Human Development at UERJ, African Literary Studies at UFRJ, and Visual Narratives at the Classical University of Lisbon. She holds a PhD in Cultural Studies, a master's degree in Comparative Literature, and a specialization in Portuguese Literature from UERJ. She earned undergraduate degrees in Social Communication from FACHA, Economics from Cândido Mendes University, and Classical and Vernacular Languages and Literatures from FEUC.

Paula Fernanda Chaves Soares is an Agricultural Engineer who completed a doctoral research placement at the University of Guelph in Canada and postdoctoral research in Agronomy at UFRRJ. She is a professor and researcher at Iguaçu University (UNIG) and collaborates with the Master's Program in Local Development at UNISUAM.

Paulo Henrique de Moura is undertaking postdoctoral research in Geosciences and Meteorology at UFRJ (ongoing since 2026). He holds a PhD and a master's degree in Cardiology from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), with the years 2021 and 2025 given in the source biography [degree dates and sequence to be confirmed]. He is a member of the Air Pollution Studies Laboratory (LEPA) and the Environmental Satellite Applications Laboratory (LASA) at UFRJ.

El Hadji Yaya Koné is a regular professor in the field of online learning and teaching in higher education. He researches and teaches digital pedagogical issues in the areas of instructional design, inclusive learning support, teacher education and development, and cross-border distance learning. He is a member of the interdisciplinary research group on Community Mobilization in Crisis (CMIC) at the University of Ottawa (uOttawa).

Nicholas Ng-A-Fook is a full professor in the Faculty of Education. He is the former vice-dean of graduate studies, and director of the teacher education and Indigenous teacher education programs. He is actively engaged in addressing the 94 Calls to Action put forth by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, in partnership with local Indigenous and school board communities.

Megan Cotnam-Kappel holds the Research Chair on Digital Thriving in Franco-Ontarian Communities and is an associate professor and expert in educational technology and minority-language education in the Faculty of Education. She received doctoral degrees from l’Université de Corse Pascal Paoli and the University of Ottawa.

As an Assistant Professor in Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) in the Faculty of Education at the University of Ottawa, Roberta Soares aims to teach and conduct research that emphasizes social justice. She holds a PhD in educational sciences from the University of Montreal and she was a FRQSC postdoctoral fellow in sociology at the University of Ottawa.

Cindy Hudec is originally from France and moved to Canada in 2016 after completing a Master’s degree in Environmental and Health Microbiology at Sorbonne University. She holds a Ph.D. in Life Sciences from the Université de Moncton, specializing in microbiology and genomics. Her experience spans supervising COVID-19 testing for travlers, environmental health research, pathogen genomics, and wastewater-based epidemiology.