OUR founder and manager
Maestra Silvia Brandt Siem
Originally from Caracas - Venezuela, Coach Silvia spent her College years walking from the Dental School to the amazing Fencing Club at the Universidad Central de Venezuela. There, she learned how to fence and made part of the University Team. Later, she contributed to the foundation and development of the Fencing Schools for Minor Categories.
After some years of uninterrupted work, she was selected to attend an intensive Coaching training at the Universidad Del Deporte “Manuel Fajardo” in the Province of Villa Clara, Cuba; where she lived for seven months, and specialized in Epee. She also got involved in Referee training, and other educational opportunities for professional development in other cities of the continent.
But what certainly marked a difference in her sport career was attending the International Olympic Academy in Greece, in 2006, an experience that opened her understanding of sports as a moral commitment to improve day by day, in order to serve your community.
Some years after moving to the United States -where she came to pursue her Master Degree in Public Health- she returned to the world of fencing, by completing her accreditation as Prevot of Epee, and later as a Master of Epee, by the United States Coaches Association. Today she manages Dragon Heart Fencing Academy with an inclusive vision of the fencing discipline as a way to improve the health and well-being of participants of all abilities.
OUR HEAD COACH
Maestro Evandro Duarte Oliveira
This 2024, Maestro Evandro completes 30 years as a Maitre D'Armes.
Originally from Brazil he has been part of the Olympic team in two different countries. Throughout his career, he has achieved medals in World and Pan-American Championships, Junior and Senior World Cups and South American games.
Maestro has been in the United States for six years, where his students have conquered dozens of medals in the national competitive circuit. He is a member of the Académie D'Armes de France and his passion for teaching others drives him to serve in the United States Fencing Coaches Association.
He is in charge of designing and supervising the technical aspects of Dragon Heart, encouraging and guiding our student to pursue excellence on their own pathway.
Maestro is also a family man. He is a husband and father of two and has a passion for soccer ("futebol!"), cooking and good coffee.