Tell me about your business or specialty.
I’m the executive director of the Red Hook Chamber of Commerce. We are a membership organization that currently supports 125 local businesses and civic organizations in the Mid-Hudson Valley of New York, from farms and restaurants to retail shops and service providers.
How'd you get to where you are now?
I moved from San Francisco to Red Hook in 2021, but didn’t come with a job. My husband and I spent ten amazing years in the Bay Area but, for a variety of reasons, were eager to settle somewhere new. In San Francisco, my husband and I became obsessed with gardening, but we only had a deck with potted plants and longed for true soil. Some friends encouraged us to visit the Hudson Valley, so we did. We instantly fell in love with the area—it felt like a wiser, more grounded way of life. We had no prior connections here but, on a whim, we started looking at houses and became enchanted with one house in Red Hook. We feel incredibly lucky, because it is exactly where we want to be.
I wanted to immerse myself in my new community and see what local opportunities might emerge. Around that time, I had read Dedicated: The Case for Commitment in an Age of Infinite Browsing by Pete Davis, which inspired me to dedicate myself to a sense of place and to strive to become a “hometown hero.” In that spirit, I used my free time to show up to all kinds of civic meetings and community events. It was during a virtual town hall meeting that I became aware of Sarah Carlson (who you’ve also profiled on FLAIR!). Every time I stopped by her store, The Crows Nest, she encouraged me to get more involved, emphasizing the need for more young people and women in local leadership. She was on the board of the Red Hook Chamber at the time and when the previous Executive Director, Kim McGrath, decided to step down after 12 years of service, Sarah floated my name as a potential successor. That led to a meeting with Kim where we ended up chatting for hours. As we were leaving, we made a funny discovery—we were actually next-door neighbors! She was the one neighbor my husband and I hadn’t met yet.
What surprises you in your work, now or in the past?
I’m surprised by how easy and rewarding it can be to feel connected to a local business community, and how much I’ve evolved in this regard over time. When I lived in San Francisco, our house was near a vibrant commercial corridor known as Valencia Street in the Mission. Even though I walked down Valencia Street and patronized the cafes and shops every day, I couldn’t tell you a single thing about the business owners or the people who worked there.
Looking back, that feels mind-boggling (and a little embarrassing)! Today in Red Hook, the opposite is true. I genuinely know and love the people who work in our villages and town. We often have each other’s cell numbers, have been to each other’s homes, and know each other’s families. This sense of connection is one of the most beautiful things about small-town living.
Any other interests or pursuits (big or small)?
I’ve always been a curious person that follows my interests. Now that I’ve become a Mom, I have had to narrow in on my areas of focus (which I consider a good thing)!
Being a Mom: Right now, I get to be home with my one-year-old daughter, Octavia. I mostly speak to her in Portuguese and am endlessly fascinated by her development. My Mom is Brazilian, and my Dad is American. I was born in Brazil but spent most of my childhood in Miami. My Mom spoke Portuguese to me at home and made sure I spent summers with family in Brazil to stay connected to my roots. Since kids have a developmental window for native language acquisition until around age ten, it's important to me that Octavia grows up speaking Portuguese (and hopefully other languages, too)!
Yoga: I've been practicing yoga since I was eight years old, and it remains an essential part of my life.
Home-making: I love baking and hosting social gatherings.
Gardening: My husband and I manage two large organic flower and vegetable gardens.
Jump Rope: I used to be a competitive jump roper, co-founded one of the first two collegiate jump rope teams in the country, and was even featured in a Red Bull commercial!
Violin: I grew up playing classical violin and although I took a 12-year pause, when I moved to Red Hook, I started taking lessons again and playing in the Bard Community Orchestra.
Mediation: I volunteer with the Mediation Center of Dutchess County, where we mediate disputes in small claims court.
Photography and documentary filmmaking: I’m known to carry my DSLR camera wherever I go, and I love interviewing people.
Improv: I was part of an improv troupe for three years in college. Improv 101 remains one of the most transformative classes I ever took.
World geography, languages, and cultural anthropology: I love traveling, pouring over atlases, and studying geography trivia. I grew up speaking English, Portuguese, Spanish, and German, and in college, I studied a bit of Hindi and Mandarin. I took every opportunity to go abroad, studying and interning in Brazil, Cambodia, China, India, Kenya, and the UK.
What drives you crazy?
I studied human-centered design at the Stanford d.school and consider myself to be an experience designer to my core. What drives me crazy is when rigid systems miss the opportunity to create delightful, helpful, and thoughtful experiences for people. Along a similar vein, I love Priya Parker and her book, The Art of Gathering. An event that doesn’t have a clear purpose or structure to encourage people to connect in a deeper way drives me crazy!
Who inspires you? (it can be anybody you know, or don't know)
I’m inspired by courageous activists who dedicate themselves to a cause for the long haul—leaders such as Martin Luther King Jr, Bryan Stevenson, and Paul Farmer. I also tend to be inspired by anthropologists, psychotherapists, and sociologists who study human connection and potential—people like Alain de Botton, Brené Brown, Esther Perel, Ezra Klein, and Priya Parker.
You're a trailblazer - what are some career highlights to date?
(And if any challenges or new directions, please share…)
While working for the philanthropic organization Emerson Collective, I traveled to Texas to direct a short documentary about Priscilla, an undocumented public school teacher who raised her younger siblings after their mother was deported and later killed. After watching the film, former Senator Dianne Feinstein invited Priscilla to testify before Congress on behalf of the Dream Act. This project was deeply personal to me. I grew up as a Brazilian immigrant in Miami, surrounded by many undocumented friends, and later spent time in border communities, immigrant detention centers, and with mothers who had lost their children during family separation. Seeing Priscilla’s story influence national policy discussions reinforced my belief in the power of storytelling to drive change.
In 2020, I ran for U.S. Congress against then Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. At 27, with no prior experience in political office, I was catapulted into the deep end—learning to navigate media, fundraising, policy debates, and grassroots organizing all at once. It was a true trial by fire, and I had to find my sea legs fast.
On a whim, I joined a startup offering COVID testing early in the pandemic. What started as a short-term volunteer gig quickly turned into a fast-paced, year-and-a-half-long role, where I helped launch testing and vaccine sites nationwide—including one at Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. With a throughput of 10,000 people per day, it became the largest testing site in the country.
Words of wisdom or advice...final thoughts, anything else?
“Firefighters never run.” This is something I learned while working with the Los Angeles Fire Department during the pandemic. It sounds counterintuitive—we tend to picture firefighters rushing into burning buildings—but in fact, even in emergency situations, firefighters walk with purpose, not panic. If bystanders were to see firefighters hurriedly running, then it would instill panic and increase the chance of chaos. Running also raises body temperature and increases sweating—both undesirable when battling blazing heat.
I apply this concept to leadership situations. Whenever a challenge arises, don’t get rocked by it. Take a breath and address the situation calmly and confidently. Lastly, have fun. Playfulness and a good mood are such underrated and magnetic qualities. A source of inspiration on this topic is Patricia Ryan Madson’s book, Improv Wisdom.
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Agatha Bacelar is a community advocate and Executive Director of the Red Hook Area Chamber of Commerce. Previously, she led field operations for Curative, one of the largest COVID-19 testing and vaccination companies in the U.S. Founded at the start of 2020, the company processed 21 million PCR tests in its first year of operation. Agatha worked with cities, counties, and public health departments to launch thousands of testing and vaccine sites across the country. In the past, Agatha was a documentary storyteller at Emerson Collective, producing stories on education, immigration, criminal justice, and the environment. In 2020, inspired by what she learned "getting proximate" across the country, she ran for U.S. Congress, (unsuccessfully yet energetically) challenging a 33-year incumbent for the U.S. House seat in San Francisco, Nancy Pelosi. A Brazilian-American who grew up in Miami, Florida, Agatha studied Product Design at Stanford University and medical anthropology at Oxford. While at Stanford, she co-founded one of the country’s first collegiate jump rope teams and competed nationally. She now lives in the Hudson Valley, New York, with her partner, Paul, and their daughter, Octavia. They are amateur yet ambitious gardeners. redhookchamber.org
(published 2025)
