Razel Suansing is a senior-level political advisor and social entrepreneur from the Philippines. She is currently the Chief Political Affairs Officer of the Congressional Office - Second District of Sultan Kudarat and the Executive Director and Co-Founder of "Kahon ng Karunungan" (KnK). She graduated with a B.A. in Political Science (Honors) and a minor in Journalism from Yale University, as well as a minor in Human Rights from Yale Law School. 

 

Through Kahon ng Karunungan, she co-created “Kahons” to simulate the Alternative Learning System curriculum for students who cannot attend school physically due to natural disasters, conflict, and the pandemic. Her “Kahons” have reached over 10,000 students across four continents. Under her vision, KnK has transitioned into creating solutions for climate- and conflict-induced issues in educational inequity. KnK is working to reform the Department of Education’s Climate Change Curriculum to restore the agency of the Filipino child. KnK’s original curriculum emphasizes a comprehensive sustainability framework, local ownership, changemaker toolkits, and emotion processing of climate anxiety and depression.  KnK is working with Khan Academy Philippines to democratize the curriculum for its 2 million Filipino learners and 180 million learners worldwide.

 

Razel is also an experienced practitioner in conflict resolution and human rights. Her political science honors thesis, “Salam Sa Bangsamoro: An Exploration of Violence Mitigation Strategies against Salafi-Jihadist Groups in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao in the Philippines,” obtained Yale University’s highest prize in Comparative Politics. For her Yale Law School human rights capstone, she collaborated with IDEALS Inc. to create a month-long exhibit and trade fair to highlight the products, films, spoken word poetry, and paintings of Internally Displaced Persons in Marawi City, which was destroyed by ISIL-Affiliated insurgents in 2017, with the proceeds entirely directed to the IDPs. She has also worked for the United Nations, the World Economic Forum, the International Center for Transitional Justice, the Gulf Center for Human Rights, the Committee on Peace, Reconciliation, and Unity, the Department of Justice - Action Center, and the Commission on Human Rights.

 

In her past life, Razel was also a prolific journalist, producing over 100+ pieces in under a year. She reported on police brutality during the height of the Black Lives Matter protests in New Haven. She also reported on Filipino-American hate crimes and was the first to break the story on Vilma Kari’s assault, featured on CNN. She also reported on the Philippine government’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Razel has received over 20+ external and academic accolades for her work.