Mariana Abdalla is a Brazilian communications strategist, photographer and documentary filmmaker with 15 years of experience at the intersection of storytelling, social impact, and systems change. Fluent in Portuguese, English, and Spanish, she specializes in media, narrative, and engagement strategies that help organizations connect with diverse audiences and advance meaningful change.

She currently serves as Associate Director of External Affairs at Health Care Without Harm, a global movement for sustainable and climate-resilient healthcare, leading public-facing communications. Her career spans climate justice, humanitarian action, global health, and education, including roles with 350.org, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), Innovate Public Schools, and the Drugs for Neglected Diseases initiative. Through these roles, she has worked in many locations, including Latin America, Mozambique, Türkiye, Angola, Somaliland, Kenya, and the United States.

Mariana’s filmmaking work has been screened internationally, including the award-winning Finn. Her latest project, We Saw Fire, an MSF production for which she was co-writer and assistant director, follows a family rebuilding their lives after fleeing conflict in Cabo Delgado, Mozambique.

She holds a Masters degree in strategic and visual communications from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where she was a Rotary Peace Fellow. Her thesis, What’s Your Story?, examined how first-person, nonfiction narratives can foster empathy and behavioral change, including two short films co-produced for a local non-profit organization.

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+ Contact her at mari.m.abdalla@gmail.com