Sunga Kufeyani
Background & Expertise
Sunga Kufeyani is a community-centered design practitioner and scholar with expertise in human-centered, design-based and community-driven approaches. A PhD candidate in the College of Education and Human Development at the University of Minnesota and a Public Interest Communications & Engagement Graduate Research Assistant at the Institute on the Environment, her academic research focuses on the co-design of teacher education in Malawi.
Kufeyani’s dissertation work explores how Indigenous knowledge and Land-based learning can inform climate justice education within rural Chewa communities. Through the development of Umunthu Eco-Pedagogy, she prioritizes relationality and resists Western-centric curricula by theorizing 'epistemic weaving,' a process that examines how teachers interlace community-rooted wisdom with scientific lenses. A learning scientist in training and an aspiring farmer, Kufeyani is dedicated to cultivating educational practices that honor Indigenous sovereignty and address the unique needs of agropastoral communities facing the climate crisis.
Sunga Kufeyani in the News
Two Eyes, Many Strands: ‘Inclusive science’ in a changing climate
In Minnesota, February 11 is the deep heart of winter, a time when we are all scanning the horizon for the first signs of a seasonal shift. But as we look for the thaw, we also mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This day serves as its own kind of indicator: a global pulse-check on whether we are moving toward the “spring” of a genuinely inclusive scientific ecosystem.
In Minnesota, February 11 is the deep heart of winter, a time when we are all scanning the horizon for the first signs of a seasonal shift. But as we look for the thaw, we also mark the International Day of Women and Girls in Science. This day serves as its own kind of indicator: a global pulse-check on whether we are moving toward the “spring” of a genuinely inclusive scientific ecosystem.