Rita is an Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Sciences and Technology, Nova University of Lisbon (NOVA FCT), in
the Department of Sciences and Environmental Engineering (DCEA). She is an integrated researcher at CENSE (Center
for Environmental and Sustainability Research) at NOVA-FCT, where she coordinates the Ecological Economics and
Environmental Management area. She is also part of CHANGE - Institute for Global Changes and Sustainability in the
thematic line "Promote a circular and carbon-neutral economy". Rita holds a PhD in Climate Change and Sustainable
Development Policies, a joint program offered by NOVA University of Lisbon and the University of Lisbon. She also has
a Master's in Environmental Engineering from FCT-NOVA University of Lisbon.
She has been elected vice president of the European Society for Ecological Economics (2025). She is a member of the
advisory board of Act4Nature, an initiative from the Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD) Portugal.
Her work has been focused on ecological economics, mainly in socio-environmental dynamics and analysis, ecosystem
services, collaborative governance, and low-carbon economies. Her passion lies in advancing knowledge through
innovative mixed-method approaches, facilitating informed decision-making processes, and shaping well-designed
policies in critical sustainability domains. In these contexts, she has been developing and applying various collaborative
tools ranging from stakeholder mapping and analysis, participatory systems mapping to mixed-method approaches to support local and national public policies and plans, as well as private
strategies and plans.
She has been integrating different international consortia for research proposals, and participating and coordinating
activities conducted in various EU projects from multiple funding streams (e.g. LIFE - ENTRACK, Horizon 2020 - Hub
IN, PRIMA - BONEX).