Mandisa is research and urban studio coordinator at the Centre for Faith and Community at University of Pretoria. She previously served as director at the Social Justice Coalition (SJC), a membership-based social movement with 17 branches across Khayelitsha, Kraaifontein, Crossroads, and Gugulethu in Cape Town. With over 2,500 members mainly living in informal settlements, SJC campaigns draw on research, education, and advocacy to organise for the rights of informal settlement residents to dignity, equality, and justice. Prior to SJC, Mandisa worked at the South African Network on Inequality at the Economic Justice Network, and at the Catholic Parliamentary Liaison Office. Mandisa holds a B.Admin, Honours and Masters in Political Science and Government from the University of the Western Cape.