Mende Thuji Yangden is a Researcher and Gender, Equity, and Social Inclusion Coordinator for Global Electric Mobility (eMobility) at WRI Ross Center for Sustainable Cities. She provides project management, outreach and communication, and research and analysis to advance clean, equitable, and safe mobility options in cities across the Global South.

Prior to WRI, Mende was a cultural preservation analyst at Caring for Textiles, where she researched community-engaged textile conservation efforts in parts of Asia and Africa that have experienced mass atrocities. This work has built on her previous role as a program assistant at the National Council of University Research Administrators, where she managed grant activities in support of transatlantic scientific research.

Mende holds a M.A. in Economics and South Asia Studies from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. She received her B.A. in Economics and Intern