Marija Uzunova Dang

BA, Anthropology – American University in Bulgaria
MA, Science Technology and Society – Maastricht University

Born and raised in the Macedonian southeast, Marija left home at 15 in pursuit of an education. At different times, this looked like classical training in piano, a Liberal Arts degree, graduate studies in the Anthropology of Science, and designing interactive exhibits for space museums. Since 2013, Marija has lived in India, where she discovered a passion for the outdoors and for working with young adults.

Before joining Dragons, Marija lived among 250 wildly international youth on a campus in rural Maharashtra, in an intentional community dedicated to peace and sustainability. As an educator, she works to design and facilitate access to transformative learning experiences in the classroom as well as in the field. Marija is deeply committed to inclusiveness in the outdoors and her most significant and rewarding engagement has been developing an outdoor education outreach program for young women from the villages surrounding her former home. She co-led the Kriya women’s empowerment expeditions – a monthlong Himalayan project with summit objectives over 6000m – in 2015-17.

Marija is a Wilderness First Responder, Rescue Diver, and freediver. When she is not in the field with students, Marija splits her time between rock, ice, ocean, and spending time with her family in Macedonia.