Vaishali Mamgain is the director of the University of Southern Maine’s Bertha Crosley Ball Center for Compassion, a program that offers training on the use of compassion to undo systematic oppression and racism. The center applies neuroscience research that shows long-lasting neural patterns of self-compassion and engagement. 

Mamgain specializes in contemplative education, a teaching style that integrates practices like meditation, yoga, calligraphy and mindfulness into lesson plans.

She is also an associate professor of economics at the University of Southern Maine. Her research focuses on labor economics, specifically the contributions of immigrants, migrants and refugees. Most recently, Mamgain conducted a study on the contributions of Hispanic workers in Maine’s blueberry industry. 

Mamgain holds a bachelor’s in economics from Delhi University, a master’s in radical political economy from Jawaharlal Nehru University and a Ph.D. in development economics and the history of economic thought from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill. 

Courtesy of Vaishali Mamgain

Pronouns: she/her

Expertise: Economics, microeconomic theory, labor economics, education, meditation, contemplative education 

Location: Orr’s Island, Maine

Phone number: (207) 780-4763

Email: mamgain@maine.edu

Heard on Maine Public Radio: “Compassion: Can We Become More Compassionate?”