Sofia is a Medical Doctor specializing in Public Health in Portugal. She has completed an MSc in Public Health at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, and she is currently completing a MA in International Relations and Political Science (European Studies track) at the NOVA University in Lisbon. Over the last years, she has been working in Public Health at an international level, having attended over 40 international meetings as an active delegate. She worked as a consultant at the WHO Representation to the European Union in Brussels for a year, following topics related to risk factors, including alcohol and tobacco. Furthermore, Sofia has worked as the Vice President for External Affairs of the European Medical Students’ Association for two years, addressing health policies and public health projects across Europe in several areas, including alcohol, healthy aging, bioethics, and medical education. Perhaps the area she has more expertise in would be the reduction of alcohol-related harm. As the Vice President for Advocacy and Alcohol Policy of APYN for four years, she worked on research, policy, advocacy and also training at both national and European levels. She also holds a position within the Young Forum Gastein Taskforce, and she was a member of the Executive Desk and the Executive Committee of the European Network of Medical Residents in Public Health. In her spare time, she likes to learn languages and travel.
Urška Erklavec has been a keen activist on public health since 2008. In 2020, she started working at the Slovenian Ministry of Health to support health topics during the Presidency of Slovenia to the Council of the EU. She is also active as a vice-president at the Food and Nutrition section of the European Public Health Association (EUPHA). Before she was a president of the Slovenian NCD Alliance and a president of No Excuse Slovenia. In her free time, she researches food systems as part of her Ph.D. studies. Her educational background is in Pharmacy.
