Ana Cristina Horta Corvo Dias Pego holds a PhD in Geography and Territorial Planning (2019), a Master's in Business Management (2014), and a BSc in Economics (1994). She is an Invited Lecturer at the Universidade do Algarve and Universidade Aberta, an Integrated Researcher at CinTurs, Universidade do Algarve, and a collaborating researcher at CICS Nova, Universidade Nova de Lisboa. She is also a collaborator at Universidade Agostinho Neto, Luanda, Angola. She has authored more than 20 articles and five books on sustainability and energy, the circular economy and ecosystems, and tourism development. She is the principal researcher for the Path4Med project, focusing on public policy analysis and economic and social impacts. She serves as an evaluator for Erasmus projects in education atthe Portuguese National Agency. She also conducts research in agriculture and sustainability, particularly in projects related to water management and the circular economy. She is preparing her Habilitation in the circular economy and sustainability at the University of Porto, Portugal.