Growing up in Brazil, Diana Currie was a star track-and-field athlete. “I truly believe sport is life-changing,” Diana says. “It gives you determination not to be better than other people, but to be better than yourself. You get ownership of who you are. Sport makes you more self-aware.” 

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in international relations and post-graduate degrees in conflict resolution and project management, Diana served as a senior conflict resolution training coordinator for Partners Global in Brazil. In 2013, she began working for Fight for Peace, an NGO using martial arts to positively impact communities affected by violence nationwide. Diana’s role was to study the map of violence in major cities across the country and work with partner organizations to share the Fight for Peace methodology of personal development through martial arts, education, employability, social support, and youth leadership. 

Through her work with Fight for Peace, Diana initiated a mentorship project with young women from the Maréfavela to use sport as a platform to discuss gender and racial equality while promoting women’s development and leadership in the community. In 2019, Diana founded PeaceFlow, a women’s empowerment company that focuses on conflict management and nonviolent communication.