Kupela draws on over ten years of experience in developing and supporting leadership capacity building programmes as well as managing programmes funded by USAID, the European Union, the British Government and most recently, the Swedish International Development Cooperation.

She also co-founded One Square Kilometer, an affordable housing project targeting young people learning and working in Zambia, partly funded by Zambians living abroad.

Her passion for leadership development and quality education in Zambia grew from her volunteer work with Restless Development where she served on the board, and most recently, with the Rhodes Trust as the Zambia Constituency Deputy National Secretary. As a Rhodes Scholar, she read for Masters of Science degrees in African Studies and Public Health at the University of Oxford after obtaining a BSc (Med) Hons in Genetics and Medical Biochemistry from the University of Cape Town.

Currently, Kupela is the Projects Director of Crucible Advisors Limited that oversees the establishment and growth of Crucible schools across Africa.