Alexander Noronha is a retired Special Agent from the Brazilian Federal Police and a lawyer. He is the CEO and founder of ARPA Brasil, a nonprofit focused on animal rights. With over two decades of experience, Alexander has pioneered several legal cases involving animal welfare, including the first judicial action in Brazil utilizing the FOIA law for animal-related matters. His dedication to animal rights has earned him numerous awards, including the State Legislative Assembly Medal of Honor and City Council Award and a grant from the District Attorney’s Office to implement low-cost spay and neuter programs.
After law school, Alexander passed two competitive exams: one for becoming a Federal Police Agent and the other for becoming an attorney at one the largest state-owned financial institution in Brazil.
As a Police Officer, Alexander witnessed distressing practices in Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO) facilities, motivating him to advocate for better animal laws. As the Executive Director and founder of ARPA Brasil, he successfully implemented humane animal control population policies, led major public awareness campaigns against animal cruelty, and advocated for laws banning animal circuses and the sale of force-fed animal products. His efforts made him a seasoned public speaker, frequently appearing on local TV news programs. Some of these interviews can be watched here, here, here, and here.
Alexander holds a Bachelor’s degree in Law from Pontificia Universidade Catolica de Goias (PUC-GO), where he was a Teacher’s Assistant for one of his criminal law professor.
Alexander aims to use his LLM in Animal Law to gain insights into the US nonprofit sector to improve animal welfare organizations in his home country. He enjoys running and Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, activities he plans to continue in weekends, while attending his long-desired LLM in Animal Law.