Remarkable Women Powerful Stories

A Leadership Series by Zonta International

Meet Joanna Maranhão, a remarkable woman with a powerful story for January

Joanna is a Brazilian Olympian, survivor, advocate and researcher. She is also the coordinator of the Athletes Network for Safer Sports. As a professional swimmer, Joanna specialized in the individual medley and distance events. She competed in four Olympic Games and won eight medals at the Pan-American Games.

As a network coordinator at the Sport and Rights Alliance, Joanna is responsible for fostering global connection, collaboration and mobilization between athletes and allies impacted by abuse in sport. Previously, Joanna led the campaign to expand Brazil's statutes of limitation to allow survivors of child sexual abuse more time to report and seek justice, succeeding in establishing a new law that bears her name, the Joanna Maranhão Law.

Joanna holds a master's degree in sports ethics and integrity from the University of Leuven in Belgium and a bachelor's degree in physical education from Faculdade Maurício de Nassau in Brazil. She also speaks Portuguese, English and Spanish.