Pema Doma began her social justice journey as a high school student working as a community organizer with Boston Mobilization, waging campaigns in solidarity for racial, economic, and environmental justice. In 2017, Pema co-founded an SFT chapter at American University. Pema later joined SFT’s team as the Grassroots Coordinator helping establish over a dozen new SFT chapters across North America. From 2020 to 2023, Pema stepped into a leadership role as SFT International’s Campaigns Director, leading several successful campaigns including the Say “No!” to Confucius Institutes, Queens Public Library, Apple Censorship, Free Tashi Wangchuk, and No Beijing 2022 campaigns. In August 2023, Pema was selected as the next Executive Director of Students for a Free Tibet.

Pema holds a degree in Economics and Certificate in Advanced Leadership Studies from American University and is also a Freedom Fellow with the Human Rights Foundation.

Chemi Lhamo is a Tibetan-Canadian human rights activist and a community organizer. She is a persistent advocate in the Tibetan freedom movement and has recently joined Students for a Free Tibet as the Campaigns Director. Formerly, Chemi served as the Community Health Lead at Parkdale People’s Economy. Within the Tibetan freedom movement, Chemi served as the Canadian representative for the International Tibet Network Steering Committee. Chemi currently serves on the Leadership Council of the World Liberty Congress and the Board of Parkdale Neighbourhood Land Trust. Her work and activism has landed her in the Top 50 Power list of Canada 2022 and the Urban Hero Award Toronto -Social Issues.

In 2020, Chemi was awarded the Tibetan Youth Icon award. Chemi served as the CEO and president of the Student’s Union at the University of Toronto Scarborough and obtained an Honors Bachelor of Science Degree in Neuroscience and Psychology. She has guest lectured at various post-secondary institutions and was a main stage speaker at the Oslo Freedom Forum in Oslo, New York, Guatemala and Taiwan. She is an avid sports lover and translates buddhist philosophy during her free time.

Myinle was born a state-less refugee and moved to the US at the age of six. Growing up, she made sure to honor her Tibetan identity by organzing events at her high school on Tibet, leading local protests each March 10th, Tibetan Uprising Day, and by performing traditional dances and playing the dramyen at universities and community centers across North America. At university, Myinle founded the Tibetan Interest Association at the University of Connecticut, a group on campus that engaged in cultural and political advocacy for Tibet.

Myinle first joined the SFT staff team as the Grassroots Coordinator, where she has played a central role in organizing critical programs such as the Annual Youth for Tibet in Europe, SFT’s North America Longsho Tour, as well as the Tibet Climate Crisis regional talk tour, and SFT’s flagship International Cross Movement Action Camp, as well as Free Tibet! Action Camp in Dharamsala, India. All of which has led to the establishment of over 60 SFT chapters since the start of her time at SFT. Recently, Myinle was promoted to serve as SFT’s International Grassroots Director, expanding her effective grassroots leadership on a global scale. In her free time, Myinlek finds peace and restoration in playing the trumpet and listening to Taylor Swift on repeat.

Tsela Zoksang is a Tibetan student-activist from New York. Growing up, Tsela’s childhood was shaped by the roar of the protest, instilling in her the importance of collective action from a young age. But her official SFT journey began as a high-schooler, when she served as Grassroots Intern in 2019. She has since continued her work with SFT in various capacities – from serving as a Campaigns Intern to participating in and training SFTs strategic nonviolence trainings, such as Action Camp, and engaging in direct actions. It was there – surrounded by individuals of all walks of life equally committed to the cause – that she crystallized her belief in the power of grassroots organizing, the power that is born in the collective will of those who yearn for change.

Now, as North America Grassroots Coordinator, Tsela has the opportunity to work with impassioned young Tibetans and allies of all experience levels steadfast in contributing their skills and perspectives to the vibrant patchwork that is SFT’s grassroots network. She is currently studying International Politics and Environmental Studies at New York University. In her free time, Tsela enjoys hiking, learning new languages, and is currently on a lifelong hunt for the best Pad Thai in NY!

Tseyang was raised to have immense pride in her Tibetan identity and understand the cultural and political significance of being an active presence in the Tibetan community. She recalls being wrapped up in the Tibetan flag chanting to the loudest of her abilities during March 10 protests, feeling the power of our voices when banded together. Inspired by SFT activists, she joined as a Grassroots Intern in 2021 where she worked on the No Beijing 2022 campaign and received training in grassroots activism. Her mode of involvement has taken many forms throughout the years from interning again in the Campaigns Team and working closely on the ThermoFisher campaign to serving as the President of SFT Boston and protesting Ambassador Xie Feng’s visit to Harvard. Working with Boston cross-movement groups has transformed the way she approaches advocacy and strengthened her belief in the power of collective organizing. Tseyang founded the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP and is an avid campus organizer. Beyond activism, she also explores her Tibetan identity by serving on the board of Rokpa, a non-profit organization focused on increasing education access and cultivating community enrichment for Tibetan youth in exile. Now, as North America Grassroots Coordinator, Tseyang has the opportunity to work with amazing youth that provide her tremendous hope that Tibet will indeed inevitably be free.

In addition to voices that are politically and culturally invisible, she is passionate about uplifting those that are epidemiologically invisible. Tseyang is a junior at Harvard College studying Anthropology with a secondary in Global Health and Health Policy and is committed to working towards alleviating health disparities in the Tibetan community in exile. You can find her reading books, swimming, or at the Boston community’s weekly Lhakar Vigils.

Kunsel Rinchen Dorjee is a dedicated Tibetan youth activist based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. At the age of 14, she traveled to Northern India to study the Tibetan language at the Tibetan Children’s Village in upper Dharamsala. Here, she deepened her understanding of the realities of displacement faced by Tibetans. This experience started her activist journey, leading her to join a local political youth party. Hereafter, she joined International Campaign for Tibet, where she focused on organising political campaigns aimed at engaging youth organisations. During her undergraduate studies in Public Administration, she founded a local SFT chapter, which quickly grew into a national network with a strong student support base in Amsterdam and Rotterdam. Her leadership and organisational skills have made her experienced in building youth solidarity for Tibet. She believes strongly in the importance of intersectionality in today’s activism. She recognises that struggles for freedom and justice are interconnected and that it requires an intersectional approach. By acknowledging how various forms of oppression intersect, she advocates for a movement that uplifts all marginalised communities. She is passionate about empowering the next generation of young Tibetan activists, hoping to equip them with the tools to counter China's narratives on university campuses and beyond.

Next to her activism, Kunsel has worked in policy research, where she prioritises participatory approaches to ensure the visibility of marginalised groups. Currently, she is pursuing a master's degree in International Law, specialising in Human Rights Law. In her free time, she plays on her university’s basketball team.

Topjor Tsultrim is a Tibetan activist who grew up in Philadelphia, PA. His participation in the Tibetan freedom movement began with attending local protests and participating in the annual Tibet Lobby Day with his father. During college, Topjor interned with the International Campaign for Tibet as an Advocacy intern. In addition, Topjor also worked at SFT as a Campaigns intern in 2021. After graduating from Williams College in 2022 with a B.A. in Political Economy and English, Topjor joined the SFT team as the Communications Coordinator, leading SFT’s outreach efforts, research, and media relations. He has delivered speeches at a number of direct actions, such as the A4 Revolution cross-movement protest and New York City’s Tibetan Uprising Day.

In addition, he also leads SFT’s United Nations advocacy work. In his free time, Topjor also serves on the board of Rokpa, a youth-led non-profit focused on increasing access to education for Tibetan youth in exile. He enjoys playing lacrosse with his younger brother, reading postcolonial literature, and running pickup basketball with SFT interns.

Nyima Lama, born in Nepal, grew up in Greensboro, North Carolina where she was heavily involved in community justice work as a Bonner Scholar in college. As a Bonner Scholar, she held community positions, ranging from a tutor, mentor, translator, and site coordinator. She has worked with and supported the work of grassroots social justice organizations, such as SEAC Village which serves NC-based Black and Brown communities, where she communicated with and contributed to a growing, collaborative network of AAPI community members in the NC Triad and Triangle regions. She first joined SFT through a summer internship as a Campaigns intern in 2019.

Since then, she has joined the team as the Office Manager. In her free time, she finds comfort in reading essays, especially the writings of Audre Lorde and James Baldwin.

Tenzin Namgyal is a Tibetan-Japanese student activist born and raised in Queens, NY. When Namgyal’s father was 14 years old, he escaped from Tibet. His father’s stories of hardship and resilience played a pivotal role in inspiring him to become an activist. At the same age his father trekked the snowy mountains of Tibet, Namgyal first joined SFT as a Grassroots intern in 2022. He went on to support SFT's many successful campaigns, including the ‘Hands Off Tibetan DNA!’ and ‘Rise Up Against Xi’ campaigns.

Now a student at Hunter College, Namgyal continues to work within SFT’s grassroots network in the NY/NJ area, where he organizes local protests and sports fundraisers. Outside of SFT, Namgyal enjoys playing basketball, watching movies, and learning songs on the guitar!

Tenzing Lhamo Dorjee is a cartoonist, illustrator and designer. Born in Washington, Tenzing uses her skills in storytelling and humor to connect with other Tibetans around the world. In May 2019, she graduated with a BFA in Design at Cornish College of the Arts in Seattle, Washington. In the summer of 2021, Lhamo joined SFT as their Graphic Designer. She's most well known online for her comic series My Tibetan Tendencies, her informational gif set Taboo Tibet, and her comic on her childhood bully with the online publication The Lily. She's also a proud member of the Yakpo Collective and has her work featured in galleries in Seattle, New York, Canada, and Lhasa, Tibet.