Biography
Brenda is a Ph.D. student in Security Studies at the University of Central Florida. Her research interests focus on security issues within Latin America, specifically the region’s interactions with Western and non-Western actors, terrorism, transnational organized crime, and corruption.
Brenda holds a dual Master’s degree in Public Administration and International Relations, along with Certificates of Advanced Studies in Security Studies and Latin American Studies from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. She also earned a Bachelor’s degree in International Relations from Universidad San Ignacio de Loyola in Lima, Peru.
Brenda has contributed to the U.S. Army’s Foreign Military Studies Office as a research fellow for the M-DIME project and has served as an Investigative Analyst Intern for the Organized Crime and Corruption team at the Center for Advanced Defense Studies (C4ADS). She has also worked with the Australia-Peru Chamber of Commerce in Lima. A native Spanish speaker, Brenda is fluent in English and has working proficiency in Portuguese.