Sara Velander is a PhD candidate in Political Science at the University of Münster and a researcher in the LANUSYNCON project at the Center for Development Research (ZEF), University of Bonn. Her research examines how science-policy interfaces operate within complex governance settings, with a particular focus on land use, biodiversity, agriculture, and the Sustainable Development Goals, and how scientific knowledge is communicated to and taken up by policymakers in Kenya. She holds an Erasmus Mundus Joint Master’s degree in Environmental Sciences, Policy, and Management from Central European University, the University of the Aegean, and Lund University, and a BA in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic. Her work combines qualitative research, stakeholder engagement, and policy analysis, supported by experience in research, communication, and environmental policy practice.