Lilian Costa Scheepers
Project Leadership, Business Strategy, and Financial Management in São Paulo, Brazil
Please bear with me, but my professional journey is far from a regular recipe! From the high profile corporate world to the Kalahari and Okavango Delta zigzagging to the unique Brazilian Cerrado and Amazon Rain Forest, I have become quite a versatile professional in multiple areas.
During my first career decade, I had the invaluable opportunity to dive deep into the dynamics of corporate finances in São Paulo, working for prominent international companies, which set the quality standards and the knowledge foundation for everything I do to date.
In 2003, I decided to leave my “moving up the ladder” job and relocated to Botswana after spending some time in the USA. As a volunteer for a HIV-AIDS project, I learnt about community work and the needs of the village where I lived, which naturally progressed to a life-changing decision to help co-found and lead a non-profit organization for orphans and vulnerable children and youth. Bana Ba Letsatsi Trust (Setswana for Sunshine Children) has been running for 16 years and more than a thousand kids and youth, and respective families, have been benefiting from its social and educational support. Over the following years, I ran my own business consulting company, which provided financial management services and fundraising strategies for NGOs around the country as well as for local businesses.
Returning to Brazil in 2013, I joined an unique NGO, Aliança da Terra, to lead all Projects and grow its grants portfolio and partnerships. Quickly demonstrated strengths in financial management and strategic planning, earning an expanded role that included overseeing and advising in all financial matters of the organization. The position naturally evolved into a hybrid role combining project leadership with financial management and new business development.
Now I am ready for my next one!
Impact Areas: Finance - Governance - Strategy - Responsible Agriculture - Smallholders Social-Economic Development - Wild Firefighting - Environmental Education - Orphans & Vulnerable Children – Women & Youth Empowerment - Gender-related Violence - HIV/AIDS related issues - Advocacy - Capacity Building