She has a degree in Social Sciences from the Federal University of Minas Gerais and a master's degree in Education from the same university. She worked at the non-governmental organisation Campo Vale (Centre for Advice to Social Movements in the Jequitinhonha Valley), based in Minas Novas, Minas Gerais, where she advised rural workers' organisations and social movements on the conquest of economic, social, cultural and political rights with riverside populations affected by dams, rural youth and women's groups.

She was a consultant for the UNDP (United Nations Development Programme), a UN body, together with the MDA (Ministry of Agrarian Development), on the Crop Guarantee Programme, which aims to make up for losses caused by drought or excess water in the SUDENE region in the state of Minas Gerais (Jequitinhonha, North, Mucuri and part of the north-west of Minas Gerais). This programme was developed in partnership with the municipal, state and federal governments and is aimed at small family farmers.

She currently teaches at FDCON (Contagem Law School), offering the following subjects: Brazilian Social Formation and Political Science. .