Dr. Nishara Mendis received her LL.B (Hons, First Class) from the University of Colombo and LL.M from Yale Law School and her PhD from Maastricht University, The Netherlands. She recently completed an MA in English Studies at the University of Colombo.

She was formerly a Senior Lecturer (tenured, permanent post) in the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the Academic Co-ordinator of the E-Diploma in Human Rights, at the Center for the Study of Human Rights (UoC) during 2015-2022.

From November 1st 2021- October 31st 2022, she was on assignment at the Faculty of Criminal Justice, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University, Sri Lanka, supporting the establishment of the new BSc degree programmes for the training of officers of the Sri Lanka Police.

During February 2024 – September 2025, she was Director/Research at the Bandaranaike Center for International Studies, Colombo, Sri Lanka.

From October 2025, she has taken on the role of Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations and Strategic Studies