Stella Mainali
Community Development & Peacebuilding Practitioner
Community development, peacebuilding, storytelling, and ethical leadership.
Get in TouchProfessional Experience
Global Peace Foundation
Project Assistant - Programs & Communications
- Supported peacebuilding, community safety, and violence prevention initiatives.
- Led storytelling, documentation, and digital communications for programs and campaigns.
- Assisted with program coordination, stakeholder engagement, and reporting.
- Contributed to evaluation, learning, and internal systems development.
James Lawson Institute for Peace
Changemakers Fellow
Training in nonviolence, ethical leadership, and social transformation.
Cal Turner Program
Student Fellow
Interprofessional community engagement and moral leadership development.
Education
Vanderbilt University
Master of Education (M.Ed.) - Community Development and Action
Aug 2023 - May 2025- Recipient of the Dean's Academic Scholarship.
- Cal Turner Program Student Fellow (2024-2025).
- Changemakers Fellow, James Lawson Institute for Peace (2024-2025).
The Open Institute for Social Science, Kathmandu, Nepal
Postgraduate Diploma - Writing and Research
2021 - 2022- Training in research methodologies, academic writing, and social science inquiry.
- Member of a research and teaching cooperative focused on critical social studies.
Counseling Psychology and Social Studies College, Kathmandu, Nepal
Postgraduate Diploma - Counseling Psychology
2018 - 2019- Foundation in counseling psychology, human behavior, and applied social studies.
- Emphasis on reflective practice and psychosocial understanding.
Tribhuvan University, Nepal
Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) - Social Work and English Literature
2016 - 2018- Studied social work principles, literature, and community-focused practice.
- Built a strong foundation in communication, social analysis, and human-centered work.
Featured Projects
Peace & Community Storytelling
Program impact narratives and campaign storytelling, centered on violence prevention and community safety initiatives.
Membership & Community Engagement Systems
Development of Global Peace Foundation's membership program, including engagement strategy, content journeys, and storytelling frameworks.
Creative & Research-Driven Work
Mental health and AI ethics storytelling, plus youth leadership, facilitation, and reflective projects.
About Me
Stella Mainali is a community development practitioner with a background in peacebuilding, storytelling, and ethical leadership. She holds a master's degree in Community Development & Action and works at the intersection of people, systems, and narratives. Her work centers on fostering belonging, strengthening communities, and exploring how stories, design, and technology can support more peaceful societies. Core skills include community development and engagement, peacebuilding and nonviolence, strategic storytelling and communications, program coordination and evaluation, youth leadership and facilitation, and ethical innovation and emerging technologies. She also speaks and facilitates, delivers fellowship and leadership presentations, writes reflective pieces and digital storytelling, and produces video interviews and community narratives.
