At the time of this interview Dr. Luiz Eduardo Soares was the Secretary of Municipal Valuation of Life and Prevention of Nova Iguacu, Rio de Janeiro. He has served in numerous government positions dealing with issues of policing and public safety and in academic positions at various prestigious universities. After completing his Ph.D in Sociology and Political Science and researching and teaching for 15 years at IUPERJ (University Research Institute of Rio de Janeiro), Dr. Soares was appointed to a research position in security policy at ISER (Instituto de Estudos da Religião). In 2003, Dr. Soares became National Secretary of Public Security for Rio de Janeiro. Since occupying this position, he has overseen the implementation of internal police reform programs, such as the UPP and GPAE.

Silvia Ramos headed Rio de Janeiro’s Center for Studies on Public Security and Citizenship (Centro de Estudos de Segurança e Cidadania / CESeC). In this position, she actively oversaw the implementation of the UPP (Unidade Pacificadora da Policia) program. Silvia Ramos was a founder of the Brazilian Interdisciplinary Aids Association (ABIA) and was scientific coordinator of the Visiting Researcher Program of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation in partnership with FAPERJ (Rio de Janeiro State Foundation to Support Research). She was a consultant to various nongovernmental organizations and advised the deputy secretary for public security in the State of Rio de Janeiro on programs to protect minorities and the environment. She is also on the board of directors for Altus global alliance, which focuses on public safety and justice. She earned a master's in psychology from the Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro.