Mission - The Mind Project

MEET THE FOUNDERS

AANYA VIRMANI

Hey! I’m Aanya Virmani, and I am a junior at Wilcox High School in Santa Clara, California. To start off with a little bit about me, I’m a Varsity Lincoln Douglas debater and a captain of my school debate team. Besides debate, I’ve been dancing for the past ten years, and I’m a dancer and instructor for a professional company outside of school.

In general, I absolutely love volunteering, and love helping out wherever I can. Mental Health issues are severely overlooked in today’s society and put down for the wrong reasons. The stigma around mental health is one that needs to be broken down, and my passion drives me to help break down that wall. As co-founder of The Mind Project, my job is to ensure that things run smoothly and mainly handle the graphic design, finance, and legal aspect of this non-profit. I help organize fundraisers, and contact different organizations for donations. I’m extremely excited to get The Mind Project off its feet and tackle Mental Health Issues one step at a time!

NIAH GOUDAR

Hello! I am Niah Goudar, Co founder of The Mind Project. I am a Junior at Newbury Park High school in Thousand Oaks, California. I am extremely active in my community. I am involved in clubs, school, and numerous summer programs. I have founded the club Doctors of the World at my school, am Treasurer of Red Cross Club, Communications Officer of Youth and Government, Vice President of Essential Care, and a member of a few other clubs as well. In the summer I hold an internship at Art Trek and compete in business focused summer programs.
As CEO of Piezogen and going through the process of getting a patent, I have gained experience in starting in new projects and leading. I consider myself an extrovert and enjoy connecting with people. With this skill set, I forged the CVUSD District Partnership at the Mind Project. This district wide partnership allows me to bring The Mind Project and its goals to my own school. I spread awareness about mental health and recruit members. As co-founder of The Mind Project, I co-manage the fundraiser directors and speak at webinars in addition to leading the district partnership. I am truly grateful to have the opportunity to make an impact on society with this non-profit! e fundraisers. I can’t wait to see where The Mind Project takes us!

RITIKA GANDHI

Hello! My name is Ritika Gandhi. I am a senior at California High School in San Ramon, California. I have a large passion for dance. I’ve been dancing since I was five years old. I am now the captain of a professional Bollywood dance team as well as an instructor and choreographer. I am also the co-founder and a Supply Chain Specialist for the non-profit “Reusii.”

How I came up with this idea was simple. As I’ve been growing older, I’ve started to see the true colors of this world. Because of that, I’ve always wanted to help but I never knew how I could help. That’s when it came to me “Why don’t I start a non-profit?” Once I got that idea, nothing could stop me from achieving my goals to make this work. As a co-founder, My job is to ensure that everything is running smoothly as well as handle the marketing part of this process. I mainly focus on the Marketing and Supply Chain aspect of the company as I do have experience in both of those areas as well as help organize fundraisers. I can’t wait to see where The Mind Project takes us!