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HomeWritersCaroline Whistler

Writer: Caroline Whistler

Caroline Whistler graduated from Duke University in 2008 as a Robertson Scholar with degrees in Political Science and African and African American Studies. While at Duke, she worked in refugee resettlement for Liberians and Cubans in New Orleans, and then lived on a Liberian refugee camp in Ghana teaching about her resettlement experiences and applying knowledge from a social enterprise class to a local NGO. The following summer, Caroline taught English and conducted a needs assessment at a rural school in Argentina. With a strengthened interested in Latin American development, Caroline studied abroad in Brazil and researched an Ashoka fellow who practiced “economic solidarity” by starting a community bank, Banco Palmas, in a favela community. Caroline returned to Brazil to develop international outreach for Banco Palmas and to lead a group of American students in construction of a drum factory to help the community generate income. After graduation, Caroline was a summer associate at the social enterprise consulting firm Community Wealth Ventures and completed New Sector Alliance´s one-year fellowship, the Residency in Social Enterprise, with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) in Boston. Working on nonprofit growth capital campaigns with NFF deepened Caroline’s passion for scalable, sustainable ways to increase social impact. Caroline is currently a Fulbright Scholar in São Paulo, Brazil, researching the sustainability of Brazilian nonprofit organizations in partnership with Ashoka Brasil and the University Fundação Getúlio Vargas. Caroline joined Catalytic Communities in September of 2010 as Development Intern, with the specific tasks of supporting successful fundraising campaigns and creating a sustainable fundraising strategy to serve the organization for years to come.

Policies

The Post-disaster Landscapes of Rio’s Mountain Range

By Caroline Whistler • February 26, 2011

It had been raining for over a month, more than we were supposed to receive in São Paulo for the entire Summer. But Rio had it worse. More than 61cm had fallen in the mountainous […]

RioOnWatch’s anti-racist reporting series won silver in the 2022 inaugural The Anthem Awards, in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion category among Best Local Awareness Programs.
A Project of

About

In May 2010, Catalytic Communities launched what was originally Rio Olympics Neighborhood Watch (hence RioOnWatch), a program to bring visibility to favela community voices in the lead-up to the 2016 Rio Olympics. This news site, RioOnWatch.org, grew into a much-needed and unique reference featuring favela perspectives on the urban transformation of Rio. With diverse and deeply interlinked articles by a mix of community reporters, resident opinions, solidarity reporters, international observers, and academic researchers, we work to engender a more accurate picture of favelas, their contributions to the city, and the potential of favela-led community development in Rio and around the world.

Contact & Support

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10 Years! Check Out Our Story:

Awards

Special Thanks

Fundação Heinrich Böll Brasil
World Habitat
Fideicomiso de la Tierra Caño Martín Peña
Pastoral de Favelas
Center for CLT Innovation
Global Land Alliance
Ecocity Builders
Mansueto Institute for Urban Innovation
SDSU Behner Stiefel Center
The Rio Times
Forum Grita Baixada
Beto Paixão Graphic Design
Architecture Museum of Vienna
Yale School of Architecture

  • Home
    • Highlighted Stories
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  • Communities
    • Central
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    • Greater Rio
  • Policies
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    • Housing
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Health
    • Sanitation
  • Violations
    • Human Rights
    • Housing Rights
    • Police Violence
    • Government Neglect
  • Organizing
    • Community Organizing
    • Community Solution
    • Resistance
    • Sustainability
    • Participation
    • Protest
    • Culture
    • Responsible Tourism
  • Content Map
    • by Community Contributors
    • by Int’l Observers
    • Series
      • Anti-Racist Series
      • Energy Justice Series
    • Event Reports
    • Video Stories
    • Photo-Essays
    • Interviews/Profiles
    • Research & Analysis
    • Book Reviews
    • Film Reviews
    • Listicles
    • Opinion
    • Reference
    • Podcasts
    • Translated Articles
  • About
    • Timeline
    • Our Reporting Policy
    • License
    • Feedback
  • For Journos
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