Joana Fonseca Maia has been an architect since 2012, when she completed her integrated master's degree in Architecture at the Faculty of Architecture of the University of Porto, after defending her master's thesis entitled "Playing in the street - designing (in) the public space". She completed her professional internship at MVCC, where she worked until 2019, as part of work teams specializing in urban design projects. From then on, as a senior technician in the local public administration, she was part of the team at Guimarães City Council's Territorial Development Department until 2022. She currently holds the same position, but is now a member of the Urban Planning Department of Almada City Council. In 2021, she attended the professional training course "Architecting a Strategy - Technical Mediators under the 1st Right Program", where she participated in the study and implementation of a work methodology that pays attention to people and situations in particular, with a view to preparing eligible applications for the 1st Right program. With a view to completing her "Master's Degree in Risks and Spatial Planning" at the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto, she is carrying out research in the area of housing, with a focus on the housing programs carried out in Portugal by the Commission for the Accommodation of Refugees.