Mina Olivera

An award-winning actress and writer, Mina Olivera has always been a citizen of the world. Born in Rio de Janeiro, Mina often traveled with her mother on United Nations business, spending years in Switzerland and El Salvador as a child and teenager, respectively. As the daughter of a U.N. human rights officer, Mina lived a childhood filled with beauty, drama, death threats, and plenty of politics. She speaks four languages - English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. Her father, a prolific movie director in Brazil in the 70s and 80s, won the Brazilian Oscar for screenwriting and encouraged Mina from a young age to pursue the arts. With a life-long passion for art, Mina has been involved in theater for most of her life, starring in her first professional play when she was only 14 years old. Since graduating with honors from UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television, she's starred in, written, and produced several critically acclaimed plays and films. Mina wrote and stared on the film SOLTEIRA QUASE SURTANDO (SINGLE ALMOST CRAZY), a comedy produced by MGM and schedule to be released in theaters in 2017. In addition, her film DARK AMAZON, won her the "Most Promising Actress" award at the Los Angeles Brazilian Film Festival. She also recently starred in the film CRY NOW, to be released in 2017. Drawing from the real-life adventures and challenges of coming to America by herself at age 17, she wrote a hilarious one-woman show entitled LOL! LATINA ON THE LOOSE. Her show was loved by critics and audiences alike and played to sold out crowds at the 300-seat Los Angeles Theater Center before touring the country. Mina was recognized for her comedic writing and won awards including the Brazilian Press Award in Miami and the Straw Award for best theater performance in 2011. Right after graduating, Mina co-founded NOVICA.com with her mother and husband Roberto. They launched this mission-driven internet company out of their basement in Santa Monica, and within a few years they had partnered with National Geographic and opened offices around the world. To date, they've sent over $70 Million to artisans, providing a profound impact to the lives of over 10,000 artisans and their families.