Ana Lucia's academic interest is public opinion research as a means of giving a voice to the citizenry and strengthening the democratic processes, as well as the analysis of data to enhance evidence-based policy making. She is a national of Ecuador, where she co-founded ADA–Andean Democratic Audit, a renowned independent non-profit research institution dedicated to advancing democracy and human rights' values and institutions in the region. She resigned from her position as ADA's director (2006-2009) in order to come to UNL and pursue her graduate studies in the SRAM program.

She earned her B.A. in Sociology and Political Sciences at the Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador. Recipient of the prestigious UK Chevening Scholarship, she obtained her M.A. in Political Economy from the Department of Government at the University of Essex (United Kingdom ).