For Salvador Carlucci, education has always been more than access to a classroom—it’s a foundation for growth, opportunity and lasting impact. Growing up between Italy and Nicaragua gave Salvador an early understanding of inequality, resilience and the vastly different realities children face depending on where they are born. Those experiences shaped a lifelong belief: education is one of the most powerful tools for change.
That belief deepened more than a decade ago, when Salvador and his partner, Tarciana, were searching for a more meaningful way to give back. After leaving corporate life, Tarciana listened to an audio book of The Promise of a Pencil by PoP founder Adam Braun. The message of starting small and thinking big resonated deeply. The couple had recently spent a year traveling through Asia and Africa. It was an experience that instilled in them a profound sense of responsibility to contribute positively to the world.
Education was a natural place to focus. Tarciana’s family has worked in the education sector in Brazil for more than 50 years, and Salvador’s own upbringing across continents gave him firsthand insight into the challenges facing under-resourced communities. Together, they sought an organization whose work created real, measurable change—and they found that in Pencils of Promise.
What drew Salvador and Tarciana to PoP wasn’t just the mission, but the approach. “It’s not just about providing support,” Salvador explains. “It’s about empowering communities to build something sustainable.” That philosophy aligned perfectly with their values at Atacana, where growth, adaptability and long-term impact are central.
Over the years, their partnership with PoP has become deeply personal. Through ongoing engagement, regular conversations with the PoP team and shared impact updates, Salvador and the Atacana team, who are spread across the globe, remain closely connected to the work they support. Salvador is quick to acknowledge that this impact is not his alone, but the result of a shared commitment made possible by Atacana’s co-founders, the entire Atacana team and the clients who support and enable this work.
That connection became especially meaningful when Salvador visited the Nam Thuam Nuea Village school in Laos.
Seeing the school in person was a defining moment. The school is dedicated to Salvador’s late father, a professor who deeply loved both education and children. He instilled in his children the importance of striving to do good for others—a legacy that came to life in a powerful way through that visit. Salvador’s father passed away the same year the school was built, making the experience both emotional and affirming. “It reminded us of the real human impact behind this work,” Salvador reflects. “Not just as an organization, but as individuals.”
That experience reinforced something Salvador firmly believes: purpose and business success can—and should—go hand in hand. Partnering with Pencils of Promise has strengthened Atacana’s company culture, grounding it in learning, growth and giving back. It has also reaffirmed their belief that education is the most meaningful investment we can make in future generations.
“In a world that’s constantly changing,” Salvador shares, “education is the best investment anyone can make. It builds a growth mindset, adaptability and the ability to create value—skills that last a lifetime.”
For Salvador, supporting PoP is about giving children something no one can ever take away. It’s about empowering communities, creating opportunity and ensuring that education remains a force for progress across generations.
“If you’ve had the chance to attend school as a child,” Salvador says, “you already understand how vital education is. Supporting Pencils of Promise means being part of a movement that creates sustainable, lasting impact—helping children change their own lives and, one day, the world.”
Through partners like Salvador and Atacana, Pencils of Promise continues to build more than schools. Together, we are building futures rooted in education, strengthened by community and guided by purpose.
