Anuj Gandhi

Advisor
NAMI Next Gen

Anuj Gandhi (he/him) is a passionate 23-year-old hailing from Bartlett, IL, currently applying for his PhD in Clinical/Counseling Psychology. He currently works at the Institute for Juvenile Research at the University of Illinois Chicago and volunteers at NAMI DuPage as an "Ending the Silence" presenter and "Chai and Chat" facilitator. Anuj's lived experience as an Indian American with a mental health condition drives his commitment to creating safe spaces for dialogue and collective healing, along with developing community-level interventions that possess high cultural humility and focus on peer support, education, and complementary practices.

Anuj actively participates in public speaking engagements, storytelling, educational workshops and presentations, event programming, community dialogues, intervention development and facilitation, and community-based research, demonstrating a strong understanding of the diverse actions needed to combat the mental health crisis in marginalized communities. He founded MyJyoti, a South Asian mental health platform and community that has brought together hundreds of South Asian community members to share their stories and explore educational content related to mental health.

Anuj Gandhi brings a fresh perspective to NAMI Next Gen. He aspires to create inclusive and equitable solutions to uplift the mental health of diverse communities afflicted by systemic oppression. In his free time, he enjoys practicing yoga, reading comic books, watching films and shows, spending time with loved ones, and training in an Indian dance style called Kathak.