Beatriz Cardoso holds a PhD in Education from the University of São Paulo (USP) and a Specialization from the Institut Municipal d’Educació de Barcelona, where she received an ICE/FAPESP scholarship. Cardoso has served as an educator since 1978, teaching at the USP Department of Education for 10 years and developing teacher-training programs for a number of public school districts (e.g. Osasco and Jundiaí, both in the state of São Paulo).
From 2007 to 2012, Cardoso presided the non-governmental organization Comunidade Educativa – CEDAC and was a member of the Clinton Global Initiative. Cardoso has also participated in the Skoll World Forum on Social Entrepreneurship and in several thin-tanks organized by Harvard University. She currently sits on the Board of Directors of AlfaSol and Instituto Desiderata.
At Comunidade Educativa – CEDAC, Cardoso headed the team’s internal leadership development and managed the strategic and pedagogical planning for several projects, established in partnership with private funders (e.g. Escola que Vale and Trilhas, among others).
Cardoso has written numerous journal articles and co-authored two books: Reflexões Sobre o Ensino da Leitura e da Escrita (with Ana Teberosky) and Ler e escrever, muito prazer! (with Madza Ednir). She has also edited the following publications: Ensinar: tarefa para profissionais and E-mails Pedagógicos(based on the successful interventions conducted with Fundação Vale and Telemar). In 2013, Cardoso was a Fellow at Harvard University’s Advanced Leadership Initiative. She is the Executive Director of “Laboratório de Educação” (www.labedu.org.br).