Pema Khandro teaches Buddhist philosophy and practice, and offeres training in holistic living based on Tibetan Medicine. She is the leader of the North American Community of Buddhist Yogis and an advocate for non-monastic Buddhism.

Pema Khandro is the founder and director of Ngakpa International, a residential urban retreat center in Berkeley California, a charity that supports children in the Himalayas and the Yogic Medicine Institute. She offers public classes, ongoing trainings, retreats and long-term in-depth training. Her courses focus on Vajrayana philosophy and meditation, Tibetan Yoga and Dzogchen and the application of Buddhist principles to leadership. Her research and writing focuses on Tibetan biographies in the non-celibate traditions of Buddhist Yogis (Ngakpas and Naljorpas), the Great Perfection teachings (Dzogchen), women's religious leadership in Tibet and throughout East Asia.