Sasha (Oleksandra) Boychenko

Sasha was born in Chernivtsi, a southwestern city in Ukraine known for its multicultural complexities. Perhaps not surprisingly, Sasha has always been fascinated by places which bring together people from different paths of life. She currently lives in Lisbon, Portugal, where she completed her Master’s studies in Migration, Inter-ethnicities, and Transnationalism in 2021. Her MA project explored Lisbon-based NGOs interacting with migrants in the city and is part of the reason ROOTS Association was founded. Sasha also works as a researcher at an international Brussels-based NGO Victim Support Europe and occasionally translates from English to Ukrainian. 

Hania (Anna) Hakiel

Hania Hakiel is a psychotherapist, yoga and meditation teacher, and facilitator of trauma-informed transformative processes. She grew up in Poland, which left her with love for forests and wild fields, and with sensitivity to intergenerational and collective trauma. She lived in Berlin, Germany for more than 10 years, where she facilitated and founded varied programs oriented towards trauma-healing and community-building, addressing mainly people with experiences of marginalization and forced migration. Currently, she lives in rural Alentejo, Portugal, where she offers psychotherapy in the healing setting of nature and where she decided to grow roots together with her husband, two cats, and many trees they plant together in reforestation efforts.

Natalia Terlecka

Natalia, robotic engineer, born in Poland, moved to Portugal at a first opportunity to enjoy a year round of good weather and living by the ocean. Ocean is her inspiration, and hours spent in the water surfing and swimming is what drives her other projects. As iOS developer she works on the products that help people with neurological conditions improve their quality of life and in the future hoping to be able to predict and prevent further disease progression. As a carpenter, together with her partner they design and make by hand products imagined by the clients. Sharing sports with others is her passion and that led to create Lisbon Longboard community, where we met monthly to skate together. 

Vasco Brazão

Vasco left Lisbon at 17 to study Psychology and often looked back, nostalgic for the sun, the cobblestones, the river. He returned to Lisbon in 2016 and has served as a tutor, a student, an applied statistician, and a behavioral change expert, always seeking to apply his eclectic interests towards social good and sometimes succeeding. Queer and neurodivergent, Vasco endeavors to shape the world into a place that includes rather than marginalizes humans who don’t fit the mold society had in store for them—through writing, questioning, sharing, and welcoming. Science and science communication will always have a place in his heart. Cooking, yoga, and all forms of connecting with other people’s thoughts and imaginations enrich his free time.