Santa Barone-Upeniece is a PhD candidate in Social Sciences at the University of Latvia, where her dissertation examines international and internal migration processes in the Baltic regional context. Her research interests span international migration studies, integration and social inclusion, internal migration processes, regional economics and development, human capital and labor mobility, as well as community development and social capital. Her dissertation analyzes regional transformation through evolving migration processes, governance frameworks, and social inclusion mechanisms.

At the University of Latvia, she serves as an expert on the ReCoM project (Reception of migrants under conditions of uncertainty: governance and local level inclusion), analyzing integration mechanisms and migrant inclusion at state and municipal levels. With over 15 years of experience in EU fund program development, strategic planning, and monitoring, she specializes in policy evaluation and regulatory framework implementation. As a project manager at Civitta Latvia, her work encompasses program evaluations, strategic planning initiatives, and public policy analysis across various domains. Her research contributes to policy innovation and social inclusion strategies across multiple sectors of public administration and social development.