Payal Biswas

Executive Director, EmpowerU

Hong Kong

Payal Biswas is the executive director of EmpowerU, a nonprofit that empowers migrant workers and Hong Kong ethnic minority youth through high-quality education so they can use their voice to create a better future. Payal was previously the head of programs at Resolve Foundation. At Resolve Foundation, She pioneered the city’s first participatory grantmaking model, shifting decision-making power directly to under-resourced residents to address localized inequities. Over a 15-year career, her leadership has established pipelines for inclusive advocacy among ethnic minorities, migrant domestic workers, and LGBTQ+ individuals. Her work is rooted in the belief that community members are the primary experts of their own lived experiences, replacing traditional top-down interventions with trust-based agency and ethical leadership.