Born and raised in Indore, India, Charvi Gangwani is an avid mental health and gender equality advocate, social entrepreneur, and researcher studying at Hollins University. In March 2020, Charvi founded The Amygdala – an organization raising awareness about mental health issues, advocating for access to mental health services in schools, and helping adolescents achieve psychological resilience through education and resources. The Amygdala Forum is an online community that promotes cultural exchange and introspections, connects youth from around the world, and helps them feel less alone and normalize their experiences.

The Amygdala has become an international movement comprised of psychological education and mental health workshops and webinars, a speaker series that connects mental health professionals to students, and an advocacy series that highlights the stories of young mental health advocates. To date, they have led 74 sessions impacting 3,000+ students worldwide, and their education guides have been used in 43 schools across India. The Amygdala also collaborates with schools and colleges to provide students with telehealth support lines, free online counseling services, and resource toolkits. The Amygdala was recognized by NITI Aayog – India’s public policy think-tank, and UNICEF India as one of 2020’s top ‘30 Most Inspiring Ideas of Change’. Charvi was chosen as a 2022 Global Teen Leader by We are a Family Foundation for her social good projects and promise for a more just, equitable, and peaceful future. Charvi is working to implement social and emotional learning in the school curriculum, decrease the stigma surrounding mental health challenges, and encourage the world to take a proactive rather than reactive approach to mental health.

She has been awarded the Best Social Enterprise Plan 2020 by Teach a Man to Fish UK and was an avid participant in their Social Enterprise Challenge and an Enterprise Adventure Ambassador. In 2021, she was a distinguished member of UNESCO-MGIEP, UNAOC, and UNCCT Digital Games for Peace Project, where she designed pedagogical tools for transferring, enhancing, and developing skills and competencies for intercultural dialogue, and social and emotional learning to prevent violent extremism. Charvi is a 2022 American College of Cardiology’s Young Scholar and is working to determine how to effectively transform cardiovascular treatment for the transgender population. As a member of the Young People’s Action Team at Generation Unlimited, India she is representing India’s youth, connecting them with aspirational socio-economic opportunities and encouraging young people to become active citizens and changemakers. She is the Regional Leader of US South at Girl Up, a global initiative of the United Nations Foundation to advance girls’ skills, rights, and opportunities to be leaders. 

Charvi aims to build a platform for women’s leadership in global healthcare, celebrate inspirational women, and work at all levels from global to institutional to enable diverse, gender-equal leadership in health.