Team

Jerry Dávila

At the University of Illinois Jerry Dávila is the director of the Brasillinois initiative spearheaded by the University of Illinois system. He is the Executive Director of the Illinois Global Institute, which was founded in 2019 with the goal of advancing UIUC's work with global themes and international area studies centers. Dávila's studies center on the state, social movements, and the impact of race theory on Brazilian public policy during the 20th century. He is the author of many books, including Diploma of Whiteness: Race and Social Policy in Brazil, 1917-1945 (Duke, 2003) and Hotel Trópico: Brazil and the Challenge of African Decolonization (Duke, 2010), which was awarded the Latin Studies Association Brazil Section Book Prize. Additionally, he studied at the University of São Paulo as a Fulbright Senior Scholar (2000). In addition, he has been awarded a Fulbright-Hays Research Fellowship and a National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowship. Regarding the dictatorships in South America, he has written about the experiences of military dictatorship and redemocratization in Brazil, Argentina, and Chile for journals including the New York Times and the Cairo Review (Wiley, 2013). Additionally, A History of World Societies (Macmillan, 2021) is co-authored by Dávila. He served as president of the Conference on Latin American History in the past, which is an American Historical Association affiliate devoted to the study of Latin America.

Dr. Pedro Hallal

Dr. Pedro Hallal works at the University of Illinois in Champaign, Illinois. He is the system representative for Brasil for the Brasillinois initiative spearheaded by the University of Illinois system. From 2017 to 2020, Dr. Hallal was the President of the Federal University of Pelotas in Brazil. Public health and physical activity are his main areas of study. Leading the 2012 Lancet Physical Activity Series and serving on the steering committees for the 2016 and 2021 series, Dr. Hallal's work contributes to the understanding of the worldwide impact of physical inactivity. He served as president of the Brazilian Society of Physical Activity.

Angelina Sandora

Angelina Sandora is the Visiting Coordinator of Brasillinois for the University of Illinois system, where she spearheads communications and facilitates partnerships between key stakeholders. In her capacity as coordinator, Angelina orchestrates communication channels, ensuring that dialogue flows between diverse entities. She is a graduate of Michigan State University in a bachelor’s in international relations. Then is also a graduate of the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign with a master’s in European Union Studies. Angelina is dedicated to advancing the mission of Brasillinois and shaping a future of collaboration and mutual enrichment.

Steven Russell

Steven Russell is a Program Services Aide with several years of experience working at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. He specializes in all aspects of administrative assistance, including program and event coordination. Before joining the Brasillinois team, he worked for the Big Ten Academic Alliance and previous to that, for the university system’s SHIELD Illinois program. He approaches all aspects of a job with a positive, hard-working mindset, is detail-oriented while still focused on the big picture and is passionate about helping find solutions to any challenges. Steven is an Urbana native, and he brings with him an extensive background in customer service and event coordination.

Ben Taylor

Ben Taylor works for the Vice President for Economic Development and Innovation (VPEDI) office as an Associate Director, where he creates and implements strategic initiatives. In addition to serving as the office's liaison between Illinois-based corporate, government, community, and university stakeholders to strengthen ties, promote economic development, and encourage entrepreneurship, he oversees a comprehensive, strategic communications plan that tells the story of the University of Illinois System's innovation pipeline and economic development initiatives. Ben used to work at the College of Applied Health Sciences as an Advanced Media Specialist. There, he implemented social media and digital strategies that improved the college's visibility and recruitment efforts. Ben worked at the College of Engineering as a Media Communications Specialist prior to that. There, he created and implemented marketing plans for the college's online and graduate programs in addition to coming up with original methods to present the college's narrative to print and digital media. Ben worked as an assistant director of athletics communication, handling publicity for several Fighting Illini teams, prior to his time at the College of Engineering. Ben is a University of Illinois alumnus who holds a master's degree in recreation, sport, and tourism in addition to a bachelor's degree in journalism.

Thaís Duarte Zappelini

Dr. Duarte Zappelini is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Brasillinois Initiative. She previously served as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Health Kinesiology and held the Werner Baer Postdoctoral position at the Lemann Center for Brazilian Studies, both at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She holds a PhD in Political and Economic Law from Mackenzie Presbyterian University (São Paulo), where she also earned her bachelor’s degree in Law. She is a licensed attorney in Brazil and has worked as a consultant and research associate for several leading Brazilian institutions.

Jisu Hong

Jisu Hong assumed the role of Associate Vice President in May 2019. Jisu is responsible for corporate partnerships and international engagements that drive economic development and innovation. She also leads the strategic planning process to drive alignment and focus on VPEDI’s strategic priorities. Jisu joined the University of Illinois from Johnson Controls, a globally diversified technology and multi-industrial company, where she headed global aftermarket strategy for the automotive battery business unit. In that role, she was responsible for developing global aftermarket strategy, leading major organic and inorganic strategic initiatives, and providing leadership in strategy execution in Americas, EMEA, China and APAC. Prior to Johnson Controls, Jisu worked as a management consultant at Baker Tilly, McKinsey, and Accenture, and advised senior executives of Fortune 500 companies and government entities on strategic and operational transformation projects.