Rafaela Pereira Naves is a Data Science Specialist in the Data and Monitoring team of the Forests and Land Use Program at WRI Brasil. She works on the development of complex analyses and data intelligence and geotechnology-based solutions applied to monitoring forest and landscape restoration.

She works transversally with different WRI teams, supporting methodological design, the development of data pipelines, the integration of heterogeneous datasets, the generation of strategic insights, and the creation of analytical products to support decision-making.

Before joining WRI Brasil, Rafaela worked in the private sector with a focus on AFOLU projects, contributing to the quantification of carbon emissions and removals, the construction of baselines, and the development of MRV systems for REDD+ and ARR projects. During this period, she led deforestation modeling analyses, forest stock and growth estimations, and supported auditing, validation, and technical due diligence processes.

Rafaela holds a degree in Biology from the Federal University of Lavras (UFLA) and a master’s, PhD, and postdoctoral degree in Forest Resources from the University of São Paulo (USP), with an emphasis on forest biometrics and quantitative ecology. She also completed a research exchange at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), at the Center for Biodiversity Dynamics, in Norway.