Alejandra Ortiz holds a PhD in Sociology from the University Institute of Lisbon (ISCTE-IUL), a Master's degree in Sociology from the same university (ISCTE-IUL) with a postgraduate degree in Data Analysis in Social Sciences, and a degree in Sociology from the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of the Oriental Republic of Uruguay. She is a researcher at the Center for Research and Studies in Sociology (CIES-IUL) of ISCTE, in the areas of Migrations, Inequalities and Public Policies. She has participated in several national and international research projects in the field of migrations, public policies, health and migrations, citizenship and descendents of immigrants. She has published articles in national and international journals in English, Portuguese and Spanish languages. Her main research interests are migration, public health, public policies, refugees, integration of immigrants.

During the last two years (2020-2022) she worked as advisor at the Office of the Secretary of State for Integration and Migration of the XXII Constitutional Government, responsible of the policies of integration of immigrants and refugees in the areas of health, higher education, language learning and associations. Her experience in the government office gave her a sense of responsibility and mission allied to an enormous capacity to find solutions and adequate responses to the circumstances, which also strongly contributed to her professional and academic experience in this area.

Within the scope of these functions, I would firstly highlight the support measures for immigrants and refugees during the pandemic crisis, in particular the obtaining of the user number and the procedures for accessing the COVID Vaccination, a measure that received international recognition; secondly, the revision of the courses in Portuguese as a host language, which allowed for the improvement and flexibility of procedures, broadening the offer and adjusting the response to the linguistic needs of immigrants. Thirdly, the revision of the conditions of access of foreign students to higher education and, fourthly, the implementation of the national program Integrar Valoriza, which promotes the integration of immigrants at the local level through intervention in four dimensions: (i) decentralization, communication and proximity, (ii) capacity building, qualification and employment, (iii) housing and (iv) applied research, involving more than 50 municipalities from the north to the south of the country and the islands. These measures involved several government offices, public services and partners from civil society and the business fabric.