Avenues
São Paulo

Anne Baldisseri

Head of School

Anne Taffin d’Heursel Baldisseri is passionate about building community, motivating people, and sustaining a culture of quality where teachers and students are encouraged to learn alongside one another. Before becoming head of school in August 2023, Anne served as Avenues São Paulo’s founding head of primary division from 2018. Prior to joining Avenues, she served as head of pre-preparatory at St. Paul’s School in São Paulo from 2007 to 2016.

Before becoming a teacher, Anne completed an M.S. and Ph.D. in zoology from Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). She is currently part of a research group at Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP), where she is working towards a post-doctorate degree focused on to bilingualism, reading and motivation. Anne runs national and international workshops centered on differentiated instruction and formative assessment, as well as courses to help teachers and parents to build a sustainable culture of high performance.

Tim McNamara

Head of Secondary Division

Tim McNamara joined Avenues São Paulo in 2019, bringing a wealth of experience in innovative education and project-based learning. After four years as an associate division head, Tim became head of secondary division in August 2023. Before joining Avenues, he served as director of High Tech High Chula Vista in San Diego, California. In that role, he developed a clear vision for project-based learning, designing and facilitating interdisciplinary student projects on poetry translation, sketch comedy, community sustainability, and more. Tim has also taught writing and rhetoric at university level in the United States.

Tim holds a graduate degree in school leadership from the High Tech High Graduate School of Education. He has written articles for publications including Porvir, EdWeek, Solution Tree, and Unboxed: The Journal of Adult Learning in Schools.

Daniela Pannuti

Head of Primary Division

Daniela first joined Avenues São Paulo in 2018 as a founding faculty member, serving as associate division head in the primary division. After five years in that role, Daniela became head of primary division in August 2023. Throughout her thirty-year career in education, Daniela has been driven by a passion for engaging students in deep and long-lasting learning. She is committed to fostering inquiry in students by challenging them to solve meaningful, real-world problems, and inspired to bring the Avenues mission to life in classrooms every day. 

Prior to joining Avenues, Daniela served in a variety of roles in independent schools as well as in several education-related initiatives. Daniela has an undergraduate degree in psychology from the Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and a master of science in linguistics.

Lisa Lund Peixoto

Director of Admissions and Enrollment Management

Lisa Lund Peixoto has more than 16 years of leadership and administrative experience in independent education. Most recently, she served as the director of admissions at Graded–The American School of São Paulo. She has worked with tens of thousands of families from Brazil and around the world, and has welcomed generations of students to transformative experiences in education. At Graded, she served as admissions director, responsible for increasing enrollment; developing sustainable financial aid and scholarship programs; and forming impactful partnerships with peer institutions and corporations. Her experience in international education has led to a deep appreciation for the value of diverse communities and dual-diploma learning programs. As a native of New York and long-time resident of São Paulo, Lisa is fluent in both English and Portuguese. Her husband is Brazilian and she has two children, and considers both the United States and Brazil her home.

Ricardo Grau

Director of Operations and Administration

Ricardo is a C-level executive with over 35 years of experience in the sectors of education, telecom, consumer goods, food and health. His career has included positions as CEO of Laureate Education Group at Anhembi Morumbi University, Telemig Mobile and a Coca-Cola joint venture for noncarbonated soft drinks. Ricardo was also a shareholders' board member at Marist Group, which includes more than 40 schools in Brazil and PUC Paraná University. He has also served in marketing and sales positions at Johnson & Johnson and Unilever. He is partner and founder of a start-up for the silver economy. Ricardo has a B.A. in business administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas (FGV), São Paulo.

Cristine Conforti

Head of Brazilian Program

Cristine Marie Tedeschi Conforti has dedicated herself to education since her undergraduate studies in Literature at Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). She began her career as a Portuguese teacher in the Secondary Division of Colégio Santa Cruz, where she remained until 2017. Cristine held a range of roles at Santa Cruz, including teacher of literature and writing, head of college preparation and director of elementary school. In 2010, Cristine became the director of teaching and learning, and vice-general director at Santa Cruz.

Alongside her work as an educator, she has completed a postgraduate course in communications and semiotics at São Paulo’s Pontifícia Universidade Católica (PUC), a master’s degree and a doctorate in Education at the Faculty of Education at the University of São Paulo (USP). She has published several books and taught courses on creative writing and language learning. At Avenues, Cristine leads the Brazilian program. In partnership with the rest of the leadership team, she intends to develop the program as a model of for innovation, as well as sustainable, intercultural and interdisciplinary educational design.

Juliana Salles

Director of People and Culture

Juliana Salles joined Avenues São Paulo in 2017 as director of people and culture. She brings more than 15 years of experience in talent management and development gained at leading schools and multinational corporations. Juliana previously served for five years as human resources director at Colégio Santa Cruz. At Santa Cruz, she implemented end-to-end talent management plans that optimized school organization and strengthened campus culture. Prior to her time at Santa Cruz, Juliana worked in the energy sector. As human capital executive manager at EDP Energias do Brasil, she developed global human resources programs and oversaw leadership development and succession planning. Juliana earned her bachelor’s degree in business management at Universidade de São Paulo (USP) and her executive MBA at Fundação Dom Cabral. As director of people and culture for the São Paulo campus, Juliana is responsible for recruitment, onboarding, engagement, culture, performance management, compensation and benefits, non-financial rewards and recognition, human resource administration and leadership development.

Catalina Guzmán

Director of Student Wellbeing

Catalina Guzmán joined Avenues in 2019 from the Johannesburg International School in South Africa, where she led the college guidance program. Previously, Catalina served as college counsellor at the Taipei International School in Taiwan, where she supported students on their paths to colleges in the United States, the United Kingdom and Japan among other destinations. Catalina has also worked in higher education, supporting undergraduate admissions at the University of Pennsylvania and graduate admissions at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia.

In addition to her deep experience in college counseling, Catalina brings a rich international perspective to her work, having lived and worked in countries as diverse as Brazil, China, Mexico, Venezuela and the United States. Catalina earned her undergraduate degree at the University of Pennsylvania and her masters degree at the Stanford Graduate School of Education. She is fluent in English and Spanish, and proficient in Portuguese.