Aricia De Kempeneer, M. Sc. is the Vice President at The Network: Towards Unity for Health (TUFH), where she oversees all organizational activities and initiatives. This includes managing the TUFH annual conferences, fellowships, TUFH academies, and Centers of Excellence, as well as overseeing communications, membership, and partnerships. She also serves as the liaison to the Student Network Organization, ensuring alignment between students and TUFH’s broader goals.

Aricia holds a Master’s in Health Education and Promotion from Ghent University and a Bachelor’s in Midwifery from Erasmus Hogeschool. In addition to her role at TUFH, she works as an independent midwife in Belgium, providing prenatal education, care, and postnatal support.

With extensive experience as a midwife in low-risk birthing units across Gambia, Finland, the United Kingdom, and Belgium, Aricia co-founded the Student Network Organization in 2015 and was its first president. She has attended TUFH annual conferences since 2012, reflecting her deep commitment to advancing global health education and collaboration.

Serving in the capacity of the Operations Manager at TUFH, Nikolaj Hansen-Turton also serves as Education Platform and Social Media Manager for the Social Innovations Journal. Originally from Philadelphia and now lives in London. Nikolaj holds an Undergraduate Degree in Politics and International Relations, and a Post Graduate in Digital Marketing – Queen Mary, University of London.

Mirella Vila Nova is a psychologist graduated from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), currently pursuing a Mental Health Residency and a Master’s degree in Palliative Care at the Instituto de Medicina Integral Professor Fernando Figueira (IMIP). She serves as Vice-President of SNO Brazil (Student Network Organization – Brazil), where she contributes to initiatives focused on health professions education, research, and student leadership.

Cássio Silva is a Psychology undergraduate student at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and serves as President of the Student Network Organization – Brazil (SNO-Brazil), where he promotes student leadership, interculturality, and collaboration in health professions education.

She holds a Ph.D. in Science Education from the Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), a Master’s degree in Mathematics and Technology Education from the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), and a Bachelor’s degree in Biological Sciences (Teacher Education). She serves as Coordinator of Extension and Social Accountability at Faculdade Pernambucana de Saúde (FPS), where she works to strengthen the integration of education, healthcare services, and communities. Her research focuses on teacher education, educational curation, and educational innovation, grounded in Freirean perspectives. She is also a member of the international Towards Unity for Health (TUFH) network  since 2024 and actively contributes to initiatives and events related to education, university extension, and social accountability.

Suelén Alves is the Assistant Coordinator of Extension and Social Accountability at Faculdade Pernambucana de Saúde (FPS), where she works in community engagement, social responsibility initiatives, and the management of extension projects developed in partnership with surrounding communities. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences from Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), is currently pursuing a Master’s degree in Education for Health Professions at Faculdade Pernambucana de Saúde (FPS), and is also an undergraduate student in Information Management at UFPE. She also completed a Technical Diploma in Hospitality. During her academic trajectory, she was a scholarship recipient in the Institutional Teaching Initiation Scholarship Program (PIBID), gaining experience in Sociology teaching and educational practices. Her academic and professional interests include education, social accountability, information sources, social representations, and sociability.

Jairo Fernandes, M.Sc., is the Assistant Coordinator of Extension and Social Accountability at Faculdade Pernambucana de Saúde (FPS), where he works in community engagement, project management, and initiatives developed with surrounding communities. He is an educator with experience in both basic and higher education. He also served as a volunteer Impact Projects Leader as a member of Global Shapers, an initiative of the World Economic Forum. Jairo is a Historian, holding a joint undergraduate degree from Universidade de Pernambuco (UPE) and Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación (FaHCE), Universidad Nacional de La Plata (UNLP). He holds a Master’s from Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE). He has been an institutional member of TUFH since 2026 and has contributed to an institutional partnership project connected to the network since 2024.

A eleven-semester medical student at Faculdade Pernambucana de Saúde (FPS), supported by a 100% PROUNI scholarship, and a student in the MD-PhD Direct Entry Program at FPS–IMIP. Interested in healthcare innovation and technological development, he participated in the Digital Resources in the Community extension project and served as a teaching assistant in the Digital Resources Laboratory. He currently works on international projects and is an active member of the Student Network Organization (SNO) of Towards Unity for Health (TUFH).

Maria Wanderleya de Lavor Coriolano-Marinus, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and a faculty member in the Graduate Programs in Nursing and Child and Adolescent Health. Her work focuses on early childhood development, child health, parental education, and health literacy.
She leads the CNPq-certified research group Assistir/Cuidar em Enfermagem and coordinates nationally and internationally funded projects aimed at improving child and family health. Maria is also actively involved in international initiatives on interculturality in the education of health professionals and healthcare for immigrants and refugees, fostering culturally responsive and socially accountable health systems.
In addition, she is a Certified Positive Discipline Parent Educator, contributes to health innovation through digital technologies, and is a member of the UFPE Center of Excellence in Social Accountability, linked to The Network: Towards Unity for Health (TUFH).

Cristiane Salomé Ribeiro Costa, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE), based at the Academic Center of Agreste (CAA), where she contributes to teaching, research, and community engagement activities in undergraduate and graduate education.
She holds a Ph.D. and a Master’s degree in Administration from UFPE and completed doctoral training at Breda University of Applied Sciences (Netherlands) through the Executive Master in Imagineering program. Throughout her academic career, she has led research and scientific initiation projects and has published extensively in national and international journals.
Cristiane coordinates the research group Marketing and Consumer Culture and is a researcher with the Consumer Behavior Research Group (GPCC). Her work focuses on consumer behavior, sustainable marketing, socio-environmental sustainability, destination image, and creative tourism, contributing to the development of innovative and socially responsible approaches in management and education.

Rute Regis Costa de Sousa, M.Sc. is a Ph.D. candidate in Nursing at the Federal University of Pernambuco (UFPE) and a researcher dedicated to health education, child development, and evidence-based healthcare. She holds a Master’s degree in Nursing from UFPE and specialist qualifications in Public Health and Pediatric Nursing.
Rute has experience in both healthcare practice and nursing education, having worked as a nursing lecturer and as a nurse in maternal and child health services in Recife. Her research interests include systematic reviews, quantitative methods, health education, child development, and healthy aging.
Through her academic and professional activities, she contributes to the training of health professionals and the production of scientific evidence to support improvements in healthcare and population health outcomes.

He holds a medical degree, a Master’s degree, and a PhD in Epidemiology from the Federal University of Pelotas. He is an Associate Professor of Public Health at the Federal University of Rio Grande and the Catholic University of Pelotas, and currently serves as President of the Brazilian Association of Medical Education. His expertise includes Public Health, health and education policy, and medical education, with research interests in health service evaluation, family health, epidemiology, healthcare costs, and older adult health.

He is a faculty member at the Federal University of Bahia and holds a PhD in Public Health from the University of São Paulo. He is a specialist in Family and Community Medicine and Homeopathy and currently serves as Vice-President of the Brazilian Association of Medical Education. His main areas of expertise include public health, primary health care, medical education, health education, and family medicine.