Minal Patel Davis is the founder and CEO of the Henekom Group – Social Architects Bridging Business and Human Rights, leveraging over 20 years of experience across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors to integrate human rights principles into business operations. Current clients include the FIFA World Cup 2026 and the local organizing committees for Dallas and Houston (DAL26, HOU26). In these client engagements, titles held include Member of the Expert Advisory Group, Chief Human Rights Officer, and Chief Legacy Officer, respectively.
Before founding her consultancy, Minal was the founding Director of the Houston Mayor’s Office of Human Trafficking, the first such office in the U.S. She expanded anti-trafficking initiatives to 18 U.S. cities and 10+ countries, resulting in 60+ replication efforts. As part of her role at the Mayor’s Office, she served as Human Rights Chair for HOU26 and conducted a comprehensive impact assessment that helped secure Houston as a World Cup host city, contributing to a projected $1 billion economic impact.
Her pioneering work earned her the Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons, the highest U.S. honor in the field. Minal serves on the board of Verité, a global organization focused on eradicating child labor, forced labor, human trafficking, and gender discrimination from supply chains. She holds a JD and MBA from the University of Connecticut and a BA in Political Science from New York University. Minal is fluent in English and has basic knowledge of Gujarati and Hindi.
The Summit was more than empty words – it made clear that a solution-driven approach is the only way to fight hate. That’s why the working group activities, which are results driven are going to be critical in defeating violent extremism. The Summit brought together the best minds in government, private sector, academia, and civil society. Being surrounded by these experts sparked new ideas – some of which I’ve already implemented or have written about.
