Maio Buenafe (she/they/siya) is a bilingual immigrant, genderqueer, multi-ethnic Indigenous Filipino (Ifugao, Itneg, Ilokano, Tagalog & Fujian Chinese) who has lived most of her life between the Philippines and California.
A college professor with over 10 years of experience, they have taught Applied Cultural Anthropology, Political Science, Critical Diversity Studies, and Ethnic Studies at various universities and colleges in the US and the Philippines. As a qualitative ethnographic researcher and Indigenous studies scholar for over 18 years, Maio specializes in decolonial cultural and political education through Indigenous knowledge systems and practices, intergenerational knowledge transfer, protection & management of sacred properties, & food and water sovereignty. Maio combines her extensive experience as an educator-scholar-researcher with her work as a community organizer, facilitator, and mentor for transitional age youth and local changemakers.
They are the founder and visionary at the Unlearning Community School - a third space for learning which centers liberatory cultural and political education emphasizing learning through community-led peer and intergenerational mentorship; and a capacity-building organization cultivating durable skills needed in community building, relational awareness, and collective responsibility. For over 8 years, Maio has worked with business owners and non-profit organizations providing direct services to frontline communities impacted by systemic injustices. Their roles involved project management, curriculum design, program development, administrative coordination, conducting research, reviewing grant applications or proposals, and facilitating training or workshops within organizations and multi-site initiatives.
Office Hours are by appointment only via Zoom on Wednesdays from 2-4pm.