Scholar Profile

Gumana Elrufai

International Affairs

Biography

Gumana Elrufai is a Sudanese-American student at Yale University studying Global Affairs. She serves as Secretary of the Yale African Students Association and is a member of Yale’s premier step team, Steppin’ Out. Through her involvement with the Yale Model African Union (YMAU), she helped organize a 400-person conference in Accra, Ghana, that brought together students from 35 countries across Africa. In the coming year, she will serve as YMAU’s Director-General of External Operations, leading the organization’s external partnerships and outreach efforts for its conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

Her academic and professional interests center on democracy, governance, human rights, and international law, with a particular focus on Africa. As a Sudanese immigrant, Gumana is passionate about youth leadership, civic engagement, and strengthening connections between African and diaspora communities. She is the founder of The Voice of Sudan and Tigers NYC Youth Soccer and has worked to expand opportunities for youth participation in public life through advocacy, organizing, and community-building initiatives.

Prior to Yale, Gumana graduated from Brooklyn Technical High School, where she served as co-captain of the Congressional Debate Team, competed in Mock Trial, organized Youth Lobby Day through the New York Civil Liberties Union, and worked as an NYC Votes Youth Ambassador. She was also a Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA) Scholar.

High school:  Brooklyn Technical High School

Degrees