Chanda Burrage

Chanda Burrage, a native of Winston-Salem, NC, is a geographer and social entrepreneur who has participated in numerous initiatives across Africa and the US. Most notably, she has facilitated participatory research for CUNY-MIT Brooklyn Health in Brownsville and East New York, advanced climate science knowledge in rural and urban Pennsylvania schools with Penn State CarbonEARTH and developed Mashavu telemedicine in Kenya. She has also conducted globalization-vulnerability studies of agri-pastoral systems in Ethiopia and Djibouti. Prior to entering the world of sustainability management, Chanda held research management positions at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine and the department of Neurobiology and Anatomy.

Currently, Chanda is a lecturer of sustainability management at Columbia University, and a faculty member at CUNY Medgar Evers College, where she teaches geography and research methods. Chanda is also completing doctoral studies in geography and organizational leadership at Penn State University and The Chicago School of Professional Psychology, respectively. In addition, Chanda has a bachelor's in biology from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, a master’s in international affairs from The Pennsylvania State University, and a master’s in biomedical engineering from Wayne State University.

Chanda enjoys serving as the co-founder of World Rhythm Academy, gardening at Amboy Community Garden in Brooklyn, biking with Black Girls Do Bike, and running with Team Lean Strong Fast. She is currently training for the 2024 New York City Marathon. Ultimately, with a desire to center local marginalized communities and challenge broader global concerns around emerging social finance and technological systems, Chanda continues to strive towards building sustainable organizations where any individual can thrive as we work together towards a healthy planet and harmonious society.​