Mahendra Pandey

About Mahendra Pandey

Mahendra is a Director of Humanity United(HU) Forced Labor & Human Trafficking (FLHT) portfolio. He provides strategic leadership and vision for movement building, and grassroots worker- and survivor-led initiatives. Mahendra also co-leads HU’s organizational level well-being and healing efforts, integrating cultural, Global South, and spiritual perspectives into these initiatives.Before joining HU, Mahendra worked as a migrant worker in Saudi Arabia while searching for his father, who had been living there as a migrant worker for 14 years. During this period, he experienced first-hand the poor working conditions faced by many Nepali workers. While working in Saudi Arabia, Mahendra established a Nepali migrant rights network, which later evolved into the Pravasi Nepali Coordination Committee (PNCC), a leading Nepali NGO. Mahendra served as the Founding Chairperson of PNCC where he established groups in destination countries to assist workers stranded in detention centers across the Arab Gulf region. Mahendra is the founder of several migrant workers networks, both in Nepal and globally.Over the last fifteen years, Mahendra has dedicated his career to leading efforts to transform the lives of migrant workers and survivors and advancing the well-being of workers and marginalized populations, particularly in the Global South. He founded Shramik Sanjal, a network of Nepali migrant workers, and the Global Migrant Workers Network (GMWN), through which he provides mentorship and support for building the next generation of migrant worker leaders from Africa and Asia. As a former migrant worker, Mahendra channels his lived experience into advocacy and mastermind behind the first-ever advocacy association led by migrant workers. His journey from victim to advocate highlights the urgent need for systemic reforms in labor migration policies and practices, while also offering hope for a more just and equitable future for migrant workers globally. Mahendra serves as Vice-Chair of the Freedom Fund, a global organization committed to ending modern slavery.Additionally, he is also a member of the Advisory Council of Polaris. Mahendra is a member of the Lived Experience Panel for the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking.Mahendra holds a master’s degree in digital media and Storytelling from American University in Washington, D.C, and has completed Executive Education in Leadership, Organizing, and Action from the Harvard Kennedy School at Harvard University. In his free time, he practices meditation, mindfulness, wisdom, and joy.

Experience

1. Founder

   Global Migrant Workers Network

   Sep 2020 — Present

Education

• American University

  Master of Arts (MA), Journalism and Digital Storytelling

  2015 — 2017

• Global College International ( Affiliated with University of Warsaw, Poland )

  Graduate Diploma, International Relation

  2012 — 2013

• Harvard Kennedy School

  Executive Education: Leadership, Organizing and Action: Leading Change

• Tribhuwan University

  Bachelor's degree, English Literature and Mass Communication

  2008 — 2011

Skills

• Public Relations
• Leadership
• Marketing
• Training
• Public Speaking
• Research
• Management
• Policy Analysis
• Policy
• International Migration
• Strategic Planning
• Fundraising
• International Relations
• Human Rights
• Nonprofits