Founder and Coordinator, Conexão G | Brazil

Gilmara is a leader and defender of LGBTQIA+ rights in the favelas. She was the first transsexual person to receive the Tiradentes Medal from Rio de Janeiro’s Legislative Assembly. She is the executive director of Conexão G, an LGBT civil society organization from the favelas. She is currently working on a report that covers the violence suffered by the LGBT population in favelas. Gilmara studies psychology at the Veiga de Almeida University and lives in the Maré favela complex. 

Rise Up Cohort: Brazil, 2023