Mandela is a native of the Democratic Republic of Congo. He and his family moved to the U.S. as refugees through Kentucky Refugee Ministries. He is one of eight children in his family. Mandela earned a BA in Foreign Language and International Studies, with a minor in Refugee and Forced Migration Studies, from Bellarmine University. He spent the past five years working at Kentucky Refugee Ministries (KRM) as the Employment Services Manager. He is excited to join the Kentucky Office for Refugees (KOR) as the State Employment Services Coordinator, where he will coordinate all employment services funded by KOR throughout the state of Kentucky. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family, biking, volunteering, and reading.