Dr. Weverton Ataide Pinheiro (he/they) is an Assistant Professor of STEM Education, with a mathematics education focus, at Texas Tech University. Dr. Ataide Pinheiro was born and raised in a small town about 30 miles from the capital of Brazil, Brasília. He had an amazing childhood surrounded by family and friends, even though complex societal forces shaped his experiences from early on in life. While growing up with a single mother, he never lacked food or clothing; however, Dr. Ataide Pinheiro grew up poor.

As a queer Black Brazilian man, the intersection of many marginalized identities shaped his trajectory through K–12 education and higher education. He grew up understanding that the only way to achieve a financially stable future was through education, since his family did not—and does not—have financial assets that could support him.

Dr. Ataide Pinheiro’s life trajectory changed when he got the chance to study at Colégio Militar Dom Pedro II (CMDP II). With the help of his uncle’s friend, he obtained a position at one of the most prestigious public K–12 schools in Brasília, a firefighters’ military school. At CMDP II, Weverton met great friends who supported him in studying. Up to that point, his trajectory had been marked by difficulties in learning school subjects and advancing from grade to grade. At CMDP II, not only did he meet a great friend, Rodolpho, who dedicated a vast amount of time to teaching him mathematics, but he also learned, more generally, how to study in order to be successful in school.

From middle school through high school, Weverton’s greatest joy was school. He loved going to school and spending time learning. Through this experience, he fell in love with mathematics and decided that he wanted to become a mathematics teacher.

In 2009, Weverton was accepted into the Universidade de Brasília (UnB), the only and most prestigious public research university in the Federal District of Brazil and one of the best universities in the country. UnB opened multiple doors for Weverton, including being funded to study abroad twice and learning about new educational opportunities outside Brazil. Through these experiences, in 2015, Weverton was admitted with a fully funded scholarship to pursue his master’s degree in Mathematics Education at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan.

After finishing his master’s degree in 2017, Weverton was accepted, also with full funding, to pursue his Ph.D. at Indiana University. In 2022, Weverton completed his Ph.D. and joined the faculty at Texas Tech University. He loves his colleagues at Texas Tech, who have been very supportive of his professional success.

Currently, Weverton lives in Lubbock, Texas, and is happily married to Bobby.