Nelma Gusmão de Oliveira is a Professor at Universidade Estadual do Sudoeste da Bahia since 1988. She graduated in Civil Engineering and Architecture and Urbanism at Universidade Federal da Bahia, and finished her PhD in Urban and Regional Planning at Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. She did a doctoral internship at Université du Québec à Montréal, Canada. Her doctorate thesis was honored as the best of 2011-2012 by ANPUR (National Urban and Regional Research and Planning Association).