Ticiana Ponte is enrolled in the Doctorate in Public Policy at the Department of Social, Political and Territorial Sciences at the University of Aveiro (DCSPT, UA) in Portugal, where she is also a member of the Research Unit on Governance, Competitiveness and Public Policies (GOVCOPP). Ponte holds a master’s degree in architecture, with a specialization in urbanism, and a bachelor’s degree in architecture and urbanism from the Federal University of Ceará, Brazil.

During her undergraduate studies, Ponte received a scientific initiation scholarship grant from CNPq (Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico) to research the impact of climate dynamics on the Northeast region of Brazil. She was awarded 1st place in the Engineering Area for her research presentation at the IX Scientific Meeting of Research Initiation by the Federal University of Ceará. She was also awarded 6th place in the FCT 2021 Call for PhD Studentships in Economic and Social Geography, with the research project “Planning for Urban Sustainable Development: A Complex Adaptive System Approach to Lisbon's Green Infrastructure”. From July 2021 to March 2025, she received a Research Fellowship within the scope of the R&D Project ENVISION - Accelerating Environmental Assessment towards Sustainable Cities and Regions (PTDC/GES-URB/0804/2020) with the financial support of Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia/MCTES. Her research focuses on identifying and exploring the role of various actors in local governance decision-making processes of policies and plans, particularly examining how agency features may drive urban systemic change toward sustainability.

Ponte has published an article as the first and corresponding author in an international peer-reviewed journal indexed in Scopus (Urban Research and Practice), marking a significant milestone in her research project. She has also co-authored two articles in national journals in Brazil. In addition, she has published and presented seven conference abstracts, four of which were at prestigious international conferences at renowned universities, including Georgetown University and Columbia University in the U.S. She also presented a full paper at the International Conference on Water, Energy, Food, and Sustainability (ICoWEFS 2021) in Portugal, which was published by Springer.

She worked for the Prefecture of Fortaleza, Brazil, at the Municipal Secretariat of Urbanism and Environment as the executive sub-coordinator of a multidisciplinary team. In this role, she participated in research activities and planning for sustainable urban development and public policies in collaboration with international organizations dedicated to sustainable development, such as UN-Habitat, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and ICLEI- Local Governments for Sustainability. The plans include the Fortaleza Master Plan, Fortaleza Walkability Plan, Low-Carbon Urban Development Strategies Plan, and Integrated Waterfront Management Project. For this work, she received a distinction award for outstanding public service.