BIOGRAPHY
It’s the big questions that interest me. Ever since I can remember, I’ve been interested in who we are, what is the point of our existence, and what is the best way to live. I don’t have hard and fast answers about the human condition, but it has become my life’s work to think about it and engage in conversation and action that makes the world a better place.
I am the last of five children of parents from Brazil who emigrated to the United States. I am a second-generation American enthralled by the promise of freedom: of conscious, of creation, of community. The promise of freedom is perfect, though we are not. My parents worked hard to give me opportunities they did not have. I grew up in many places: in different countries, states, cities, and neighborhoods. I attended many schools, moving from place to place. Books became my friend. I am happiest learning and creating change. Two places largely shaped my worldview: Chaminade High School in Hollywood, Florida, where I was taught by brothers of the Marianist Order, and Rollins College in Winter Park, Florida, where I read history and philosophy of religion. Both places infused a love of the liberal arts and fascination with the humanities. When I graduated from Rollins, I received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan medallion for leadership and service.
I graduated from The Florida State University College of Law, clerked for the Hon. Peter T. Fay of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, and practiced law for successive national, regional, and local firms. I took it all seriously, but wanted something more. A managing partner called me a poet. I wanted my life to matter, and I knew in my heart that managing lawsuits was not it for me.
I married a woman of great character who encouraged me to reach for a new life. We moved to Charlotte, North Carolina. I co-founded a web-design business that ended during the dot.com crash. Lessons learned. Late at night, thinking deeply about who I wanted to be, I launched a magazine about city life and culture called Charlotte Viewpoint. I founded a non-profit organization by the same name, and over the next ten years I led a band of writers, photographers, artists, and editors who produced work that explored the city that had become my home.
One afternoon I gave a presentation about the mythic qualities of cities to a group of civic leaders. The dean of academic affairs at Johnson & Wales University came up to me afterward and asked if I had an interest in teaching. As of this writing, I have been on faculty for eighteen years, first teaching courses on leadership, and now leading courses on how to live and make a difference in the world.
Two ventures followed: the On Life and Meaning podcast, where I recorded conversations with 100 remarkable people about their lives and higher purposes and wrote essays inspired by their lives, and The Charlotte Center for the Humanities & Civic Imagination, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating flourishing futures. I am interested in nurturing creative capital and driving social change.
I write and speak about what is true, beautiful, and good, or I try to, knowing I have many failings, but I think somehow that is the point. We are better when we act anyway. In 2024, I received the Algernon Sydney Sullivan Foundation Luminary Award for Lifetime Leadership and Service. I’m doing my best to live up to the billing.
