Nguyen Pham became President of the Mensa Foundation in 2024 as the first openly LGBTQ+ person, first person of color, and youngest person to hold the role. He is focused on humanizing the Foundation, broadening the understanding of intelligence beyond IQ, and creating a more neuroinclusive world.
Sensational in São Paulo — Highlights from Mensa Brasil’s Inaugural International Congress
Olá! Tudo bem? Hello! How are you?
Earlier this month, I had the distinct privilege to bring the Mensa Foundation south of the equator to Brazil: Land of the Palm Trees. The largest country in South America, Brazil is globally renowned for her vibrant Carnival festival, passionate futebol (soccer) culture, massive Amazon Rainforest, world-leading coffee production – and now, a first-of-its-kind international and interhemispheric collaboration with the world’s most brilliant charitable organization, the Mensa Foundation.
Genesis
The journey toward the Mensa Foundation’s Brazilian debut began mere months prior at the Mensa IBD (International Board of Directors) Meeting in Düsseldorf, Germany, in October 2025. At that meeting, I had presented, among other things, the Mensa Foundation’s newest programming and initiatives deployed in response to the insights revealed in our 2024 Study of Unmet Needs Among Highly Intelligent Individuals. This update struck a chord with the leaders of Mensa Brasil, who had just begun planning their first-ever international mental health conference, to take place in early 2026.
Following that IBD Meeting, Mensa Brasil ruminated on the strong parallels between the needs of the gifted and neurodivergent population in Brazil and those that the Mensa Foundation had identified in the US. This prompted a kind invitation for me to represent the Mensa Foundation at Mensa Brasil’s upcoming new conference, which by then was scarcely a couple of months away. Following some energizing conversations between both organizations, I responded with an enthusiastic “Sim!” / “Yes!”
History in The Making
Mensa Brasil held its inaugural International Congress: Themes in Mental Health across three days at the start of March 2026 in the largest city in the Western Hemisphere, São Paulo, convening 300 in-person attendees and 2,000 virtual participants via global livestream. In the months leading to the Congress, I marveled at the positive working relationship between the Mensa Foundation and Mensa Brasil as well as at Mensa Brasil’s own flourishing organizational reputation and meteoric growth. Thanks to these factors, the Mensa Foundation was glad not only to participate as the International Keynote Lecturer but also to sign on officially as the event’s Premier Sponsor. This marked a first for the Mensa Foundation as, throughout our 55-year history since our founding in 1971, we had never officially sponsored an overseas event – until now.
Global Stage
Thanks to this deepened interorganizational connectedness, Mensa Brasil graciously shined the brightest possible spotlight on the Mensa Foundation throughout the Congress. As planned, I enthusiastically delivered the International Keynote Lecture, “The Highly Intelligent in the US: Unmet Needs and Public Policy Implications,” to what was likely the Mensa Foundation’s largest and most global audience to date. Additionally, Mensa Brasil persistently centered the Mensa Foundation, providing me with speaking opportunities at the Congress’s Opening and Closing Ceremonies to broaden the reach of our messaging on giftedness, neurodiversity, and mental health. The Congress organizers even ensured the usage of a Mensa Foundation-branded rollerball pen, produced exclusively for the Congress, during the momentous inauguration of Mensa Brasil’s newly elected Board of Directors, a ceremony that was both symbolic and real.
Appreciation and Outlook
Muito obrigado e meus parabéns / Many thanks and congratulations to the entirety of the brilliant and beautiful team at Mensa Brasil on a wildly successful first-ever International Congress. At a time when identifying as gifted and/or neurodivergent can feel isolating, to commune with others in the name of mental resilience is to feel liberated. The world is a big place, and meaningful connections like the one growing between the Mensa Foundation and Mensa Brasil help to bring us all closer as we work together to unleash intelligence for the benefit of humanity.
Até a próxima / Until next time,
Nguyen Pham (he/him/ele)
President, Mensa Foundation
Mr. Mensa 2011
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