Sandra Lima Coelho has a PhD in Sociology from the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University of Porto, where she wrote her thesis "O Comércio Justo Em Portugal. A sociological look at the modus operandi of an alternative commercial model and the modus vivendi of its consumers". Lecturer at Católica Porto Business School, the European University and the Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities at the University of Beira Interior.

Member of the Coordination Council of Cive Morum - Center for Studies and Civic Intervention. Member of the Editorial Board of the Social Barometer Platform, and coordinator of the Citizenship, Inequalities and Social Participation dimension. Coordinator of the Sociology of Consumption Thematic Section of the Portuguese Sociology Association. Coordinator of the Ethics, Economy and Society Group at Católica Porto Business School.

She has participated in several innovative social projects within the scope of different Sustainable Development Goals, namely alternative consumption practices (collaborative consumption, sharing economy, sustainable consumption, Fair Trade, local currencies), social impact assessment (evaluation and monitoring of social intervention projects), combating gender inequalities. Most recently, she coordinated the evaluation and monitoring process for the MaiaInclui project.

Bridging the gap between her teaching and research activities, she has several interests and publications in the areas of Social Innovation, Sustainable Development, Alternative Economies, Volunteering and the Sociology of Consumption. She was co-coordinator of the project "Rede Nacional de Consumo Responsável: estratégias para a mudança dos hábitos de consumo dos jovens portugueses" (National Network for Responsible Consumption: strategies for changing the consumption habits of young Portuguese people) and is a leader and volunteer in the Diálogo Acontece Association, whose activity lies in disseminating and promoting the products and principles of the Fair Trade movement, promoting knowledge and citizenship.