Gustavo researches the connection between arts, health, and local support systems that help creative communities thrive. He contributes to projects holistically across the research lifecycle, using mixed methods and design research principles to understand how people experience cultural organizations, public spaces, services, and communications. Gustavo has also supported the integration of NORC’s Market & Design Research capabilities, bringing together colleagues across departments to develop service offerings, build internal partnerships, and connect social science with user-centered design.

As part of the Arts & Culture at NORC team, Gustavo has developed community-centered recruitment strategies, built relationships with external partners, facilitated qualitative research in English and Spanish, assisted with quantitative data collection, and helped to translate research findings into practical frameworks for clients. He has coordinated community-centered focus groups that informed Home Court programming at the Obama Presidential Center and contributed to reporting and data visualization for OPERA America’s national study of new and established opera audiences. He also coordinated research for Jackson Care Hub’s landscape analysis, which supported planning for a trusted community communication hub, and for an evaluation of NOVA’s Twitch channel examining STEM engagement and online community-building.

Before joining NORC, Gustavo translated complex public health evidence into accessible digital tools at Virginia Commonwealth University and coordinated bilingual research to support HIV prevention, marketing initiatives and patient experience improvements at UChicago Medicine. A native of Brazil, Gustavo has also trained as a dancer, is an active DJ, and cares deeply about the arts as a tool for community-building and collective healing.