Frederico Menino Bindi de Oliveira has spent more than two decades working at the intersection of education, diplomacy, and philanthropy — building programs, shaping policy, and writing about the ideas that hold democratic societies together.
He currently serves as Senior Program Officer for Higher Education at the Open Society Foundations in New York, where he oversees one of the Foundations’ largest grantmaking portfolios and designed a multi-million-dollar initiative to protect scholars and institutions under threat. Before that, he was a founding member of the Schwarzman Scholars program at Tsinghua University, leading global admissions and outreach across Latin America, Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. Earlier still, as Education Attaché at Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he oversaw a $4.2 billion scholarship program that sent thousands of Brazilian students to study in the United States.
His path began differently — as a journalist in São Paulo, then as an elected youth delegate in the city’s Participatory Budgeting process, one of the world’s most celebrated experiments in deliberative democracy. That early experience with grassroots governance still shapes how he thinks about institutions, power, and the people they’re meant to serve.
Frederico holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from The New School for Social Research, an M.Sc. in Political Science from the University of São Paulo, and has held research fellowships at Harvard University and the University of Sussex. He writes on higher education, academic freedom, and the politics of knowledge for outlets including The Guardian, Project Syndicate, and University World News. A tri-national citizen of Brazil, Italy, and the United States, he speaks five languages and has lived and worked across four continents.
Outside his role at OSF, Frederico works directly with individuals and organizations navigating similar terrain. His practice spans:
- Strategic consulting in education and international affairs — advising universities, foundations, and governments on cross-border partnerships, academic diplomacy, and program design.
- Philanthropic advisory — helping funders think clearly about theory of change, portfolio strategy, and where their resources can do the most good.
- Storytelling — shaping the narratives that institutions and individuals use to explain who they are and why their work matters.
- Grantmaking — supporting organizations through the grant lifecycle, from proposal to reporting to renewal.
- Language tutoring — teaching Portuguese, Spanish, and English to students and professionals working across borders.
- Admissions coaching — guiding students through the university and fellowship application process, drawing on years spent on the other side of that table.
What connects all of this is a belief that education, done well, is one of the most powerful tools we have for building a more open, more democratic world — and that the people doing this work deserve thoughtful, experienced partners.
This site is where that work lives. Explore what Frederico has done, what he’s thinking about, and how to get in touch.
Frederico Menino 