Born and raised in São Paulo (Brazil), Lucas de Souza Martins is currently a Graduate School Fellow at Temple University where he pursues a PhD in Diplomatic History under the supervision of Dr. Alan McPherson and teaches undergraduate courses on Global History, U.S. History, and Latin American Affairs. Martins' research is focused on the diplomatic relationship between the United States and Latin America during the Cold War, Brazil's transition to democracy in the late 1980s and Colombia's constituent process in 1991.

At Temple University, Martins is currently chairing the 30th edition of the annual James A. Barnes Conference, one the largest and longest-running graduate student conferences in the East Coast region, which draws participantes across the nation and around the world. Before his time as conference chair, he was a member of the conference committee and served as a Graduate Coordinator for Temple's Latin American Studies Society along with Dr. Monica Ricketts, LAS Director.

Martins is a recipient of the Wilson Center Cold War Archives Research Institute Fellowship (2023-2024) as he conducted part of his doctoral investigation at the Vera and Donald Blinken Open Society Archives in Budapest, Hungary. Prior to joining Temple, he received The Carter Carter's Robert and Margaret Graduate Assistant Fellowship (2022) as he joined this organization in Bogotá, Colombia for its electoral expert mission focused on the country's presidential election.

Martins had obtained a master's degree in American History from Georgia State University and worked as an international affairs aide at the Georgia State House of Representatives. In his home country, he was a press officer at the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Itamaraty) and the country's Federal Senate.

In the Brazilian academia, Martins taught undergraduate courses on American History and African-American History at Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV) and Zumbi dos Palmares University, the first and largest Brazilian HBCU. He currently serves as a consultant for social and political projects in Brazil for the Historic Ebenezer Baptist Church, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s congregation based in Atlanta (GA), and international affairs aide for the Brazilian National Front of Evangelicals for the Rule of Law (FEED).

His commentaries on political issues in the United States and Latin America has appeared on major media outlets, such as CNN Brasil, Radio France Internationale (RFI), Jovem Pan News, and Band News TV.

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Alan McPherson
Curriculum Vitae | Website