Ilona Szabó de Carvalho

Activist, Change Agent, Concerned citizen, Connector, Foodie, Parent, Policy maker, World traveler

Ilona Szabó de Carvalho is an entrepreneur and a thought-leader. She is the co-founder of the Igarapé Institute, a global think and do tank focused on security, nature and climate, founder of the Green Bridge Facility, a gateway to high-integrity green enterprise in Brazil and the Amazon Basin and of RegeneraBioLab, a hub for protection, restoration, and regenerative practices in the Atlantic Forest. She serves on several boards, including the Global Future Council on Natural Capital at the WEF, the International Advisory Panel on Biodiversity Credits, the Social and Sustainable Development Council of Brazil’s Presidency, and Re.green. She has an MA in International Studies from the University of Uppsala in Sweden, and is an affiliate scholar at the Princeton University Brazil Lab. She is a columnist at Folha de São Paulo and an author of 3 books. Ilona was nominated as a Young Global Leader at the WEF. She received the Public Security Order of Merit (Brazilian Government), and the Bertha Lutz Diploma (Brazilian Federal Senate). Previously, Ilona was the Executive Secretary of the Global Commission on Drug Policy and of a national gun control campaign in Brazil. She also worked for five years in investment banking in Rio de Janeiro. She has a 10-year old daughter with her Canadian husband and work partner. She practices Yoga, stays close to nature, and loves to travel, sing and dance with her friends.

Nature, Yoga, singing

citizens can change the world

Citizen Diplomacy, Drug Policy, Gun Control, Peace and conflict studies, Policy and Advocacy, Public Safety, Social Mobilisation

dancing forró and samba