Meet the Coach
Margarida Pereira
Senior Life Transition Coach & Content Director
Foxbright Lda
Second act career and purpose coaching in Portugal — helping professionals over 50 reinvent themselves through volunteer opportunities, mentorship programs, and meaningful post-career pathways in Cascais and Sintra.
16
Years Coaching Experience
400+
Professionals Guided
150+
Annual Mentorship Placements
Background & Credentials
Margarida's journey into second act coaching began unexpectedly when she left her corporate human resources role at age 48 to care for an aging parent. That decision sparked a fascination with intentional life design beyond traditional employment. She pursued formal certification in life coaching and completed her master's degree in Adult Education and Social Psychology from ISPA — Instituto Universitário in Lisbon while volunteering at senior community centers in Sintra.
Her breakthrough came in 2015 when she launched the first organized mentorship program pairing retiring professionals with local nonprofits in the Cascais region. What started as a small initiative expanded to serve over 150 participants annually. It's this hands-on experience that shapes everything she does. She doesn't just talk about reinvention — she's lived it, studied it, and watched it transform hundreds of lives.
Today, Margarida leads content strategy and coaching initiatives at foxbright Lda. She's published research on volunteer engagement among Portuguese seniors and regularly speaks at universities and professional associations about the psychology of meaningful second acts. But the work she's most proud of? The individual conversations where someone realizes their best years might actually be ahead of them.
Master's Degree
Adult Education & Social Psychology, ISPA — Instituto Universitário, Lisbon
Certified Life Coach
International Coach Federation (ICF) — Advanced Credential, Career Transition Specialization
Program Design
Founder, Cascais-Sintra Mentorship Initiative (2015-present) — 150+ annual placements
Areas of Specialization
Deep expertise in career transition, purpose discovery, and building fulfilling post-career life in Portugal.
Reinventing Yourself After 50
Moving beyond the retirement mindset toward a model of purposeful contribution. She works with professionals who want to redefine success on their own terms.
Volunteer Pathways
Connecting experienced professionals with meaningful volunteer opportunities in nonprofits, community centers, and social enterprises across Cascais and Sintra.
Mentorship Programs
Designing and managing structured mentorship initiatives. She's built the systems that pair retiring professionals with younger leaders and emerging entrepreneurs.
Purpose Discovery
The practical framework for finding meaning beyond career. Using evidence-based coaching techniques and deep understanding of Portuguese culture and values.
Fulfillment Planning
Creating actionable post-career life plans that balance leisure, contribution, learning, and connection. Each plan reflects the individual's unique values and circumstances.
Coaching Philosophy
Margarida's approach centers on one core conviction: one's most impactful years often lie ahead. She doesn't believe in the retirement narrative that suggests your best days are behind you. Instead, she works with each client to design a second act that's more intentional, more aligned with their values, and often more fulfilling than what came before.
She brings both the rigor of evidence-based coaching and the warmth of genuine lived experience. She's walked this path herself. She's watched hundreds of professionals struggle with the same questions you might be asking. And she knows from experience that the transition isn't just possible — it's often the beginning of something better.
Her methodology combines career assessment, values clarification, skills inventory, and practical pathway planning. But underneath all the frameworks is a simple belief: you've got more to offer. The question isn't whether you can build a fulfilling post-career life. It's what that life looks like for you specifically.
"The best time to design your life intentionally isn't at the start of your career. It's when you have the wisdom to know what actually matters."
— Margarida Pereira
Impact & Research
Her work extends beyond coaching into research and advocacy.
400+
Professionals Coached
Direct one-on-one coaching relationships spanning 16 years, primarily working with mid-career professionals over 50 navigating intentional reinvention in Portugal.
150+
Annual Mentorship Placements
The Cascais-Sintra Mentorship Initiative she founded in 2015 now places over 150 retiring professionals annually with nonprofits, social enterprises, and community organizations.
12+
Published Research Papers
Research on volunteer engagement, career transition psychology, and post-career fulfillment among Portuguese professionals, presented at universities and professional conferences.
2
Regional Programs
Designed and launched structured programs serving the Cascais and Sintra communities, with specialized focus on senior volunteer opportunities and intergenerational mentorship.
Featured Articles
Practical guides and insights for building a fulfilling post-career life.
02
Volunteer Opportunities in Cascais and Sintra
A practical guide to volunteer opportunities in the Cascais-Sintra region. From nonprofits to social enterprises to community centers, she maps where your skills are most needed and how to get started.
Read Article03
Mentorship Programs: Share What You Know
How to structure a meaningful mentorship relationship and why it matters. Includes real stories from the Cascais-Sintra Mentorship Initiative and practical steps for getting involved.
Read Article04
Building a Fulfilling Post-Career Life: Stories from Cascais and Sintra
Real stories from professionals who've successfully navigated the transition. You'll meet people who reinvented completely, those who blended work and purpose, and those who discovered entirely new identities in their second act.
Read ArticleReady to Explore Your Second Act?
Whether you're just beginning to think about reinvention or you're ready to take concrete steps, Margarida's articles, guides, and resources are here to help. Start with the frameworks and insights that resonate with where you are right now.