Her focus area has primarily been on interrogating socioeconomic policy as it relates to young people, with a recent transition into African heritage research for the purpose of mainstreaming African heritage into the continents’ governance and development frameworks and institutions. She is the program’s coordinator for the African heritage research study project at MINDS and does freelance program work for nonprofit organizations, corporate, and entrepreneurial outfits. She was previously at the Centre for Development and Enterprise where her focus area was the socioeconomic and socio-psychological development implications of the education and employment policies as they relate to young people’s development and preparedness for change and leadership. Mandisa holds degrees in both Philosophy and Psychology from the University of the Witwatersrand.