A Brazilian native, Adriana has a law degree from the University of Passo Fundo, Rio Grande do Sul, in Brazil. Prior to joining the World Resources Institute, Adriana worked for Brazilian courts for eight years. In her latest position as a Deputy Clerk at the Getulio Vargas Courthouse, she handled all the duties of the Senior Clerk in his absence, including the organization and supervision of the 2000 elections in Brazil for Getulio Vargas Comarca. She took on many administrative duties of the Courthouse including human resources, accounting, office management, and staff coordination. In addition, Adriana provided personal assistance to the judge, researching law, overseeing agendas, scheduling hearings, working on creation of judicial warrants, archival and publishing of judicial decisions, among other duties. At the Courthouse of Erechim, she was responsible for the agenda of the criminal executions and public hearings for probations, and worked as a general judge's assistant.  Adriana previously interned at Banco do Brasil, and started her career as a legal secretary while still in high school.

Adriana joined the EMBARQ/WRI team in November 2005 as an executive assistant to EMBARQ's director and project coordinator, taking on day-to-day administrative activities and keeping the wheels turning.