About me
Beatriz Sprada Mira, Ph.D.
​Olá! I am a Brazilian-born and Canada-based communication scholar and journalist. I draw from my cross-cultural background to tell all kinds of environmental stories, with a special focus on my home country. My strengths come through especially in my qualitative, community-centered research, my teaching, and my photography.
I am a multilingual journalist and researcher in environmental communication with over seven years of experience in the production and research of environmental storytelling. As a science communicator, I work in collaboration with local communities in finding the best ways to communicate environmental science and stories through culturally relevant narratives. My award-winning work has been published in peer-reviewed academic journals and presented at international conferences around the world.
Education
Ph.D. in Communication & Media Studies
2021-2025
University of Oregon
Advisor: Dr. Christopher Chávez
Committee: Dr. Hollie Smith, Dr. Julianne Newton, Dr. Ashley Cordes, and Dr. Renan Colombo (PUC-PR) Dissertation: Encoding and decoding story, place and self: Toward situated environmental journalism in the Brazilian Atlantic Forest
M.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication
2019-2021
Kent State University
Advisor: Dr. Cheryl Ann Lambert
Thesis: Environmental communication, pro-environmental behavior, and ENGOs: Understanding motivation and strategy across nations
B.A. in Journalism
2015-2019
Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Paraná &
Universitat Central de Catalunya
Advisor: Dr. Suyanne Tolentino & Dr. Maria Forga
Thesis: Transmedia storytelling in science communication: A case study of the documentary Chasing Coral