Dorothy Stang was an American-born Catholic nun and missionary who dedicated her life to protecting the environment and the rural poor in Brazil. Born in Dayton, Ohio, in 1931, she joined the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur and worked as an elementary school teacher before beginning her missionary work in Brazil in 1966. She became a prominent advocate for rainforest preservation and human rights, which eventually led to her death in Anapu in 2005 at the age of 73.