My name is Eloy Oliveira and I just finished my Masters in Public Administration at SIPA, in May 2016. I’m currently the CEO of Instituto República, a foundation based in Rio de Janeiro, aimed at improving public service in Brazil through grants, research and advocacy. The best part of being in Rio is that I don’t feel far from SIPA. Columbia has a Global Center in town and there is always some interesting events going on.
During my time at Columbia University I have focused my studies on development, impact investing, and entrepreneurship in emerging markets. I have also created at SIPA a website focused on Brazilian foreign policy with the support of the Institute for Latin American Studies – ILAS; managed a team of students to structure a peace-building fund in Colombia at the Impact Investing Initiative – CI3; and another team in a Private Equity project in Africa. SIPA has offered a lot of opportunities and I did my best to take advantage of it all. There were so many things going on at the same time and sometimes it was hard to enjoy everything that the University had to offer. But I believed I did well on balancing classes and the study load, with social events. It was also great to enjoy New York with all the great friends I made along the way.
On my free time I like to learn foreign languages, what helped me to be fluent in six languages (I’m currently learning Chinese). Besides this, I’m part of a select group of young leaders sponsored by the World Economic Forum called the Global Shapers. Prior to SIPA, I have worked for seven years with major governmental infrastructure projects in Brazil, my home country. I was born in Belo Horizonte, and I hold a Bachelor of Laws from Federal University of Minas Gerais.
