Guidance That Moves You Forward

Leadership coaching and consulting that blends strategic insight with empathy, helping leaders and teams close the gap between their values and their impact.

About

Name pronunciation: chAHn-duh-nee pUH-tel  | Audio file 

I help leaders close the gap between their values and their impact.

For more than a decade, I’ve worked alongside leaders, educators, and organizations navigating growth, change, and complexity. I blend strategic insight with empathy to build self-aware leaders and cultures where people belong and perform at their best. My focus is team dynamics, communication, change management, and the emotional intelligence that makes it all stick.

My path

I started in the academy. After earning my Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago and my B.A. and M.A. from NYU, I moved into leadership development at some of the country’s top institutions: the Chicago Center for Teaching, Columbia’s Center for Teaching and Learning, and NYU’s Office of Global Inclusion, Diversity, and Strategic Innovation. Along the way, I learned that the hardest and most rewarding work happens where people, power, and culture meet.

Today I’m the Director of Belonging, Equity, and Impact at Rowland Hall, an independent preK-12 school in Salt Lake City, where I advise the Head of School on strategy and help shape a school culture where every member of the community belongs. I also co-direct the school’s Center for Community Impact and Horizons, a summer literacy and math program for Title I elementary public school students.

Results I’m proud of

  • Launched the Center for Community Impact as well as Horizons at Rowland Hall

  • Designed a free online course on inclusive teaching for Columbia that reached more than 18,000 learners and earned a 4.6-star rating

  • Led workshops and talks for universities, schools, and professional associations nationwide

When I’m not working, you’ll find me hiking, lifting, running, cross-country skiing, writing, or with my dogs.

See my speaking and workshops | Read my scholarship and writing | Download my CV

Let’s talk about what’s next for you and your team.

Book A Consultation

Services

  • Talks and custom workshops for conferences, schools, and organizations

  • 1:1 coaching for individual leaders or groups, such as leadership, administrative, and executive teams

  • Strategic planning, climate and culture assessments, and retained advising, for organizations navigating change

Speaking and Workshops

Practical, engaging sessions that people actually use

I’ve spent more than fifteen years designing and leading keynotes, workshops, and multi-day institutes. My sessions blend research with real-world tools, so participants leave with something they can put into practice the next day. All sessions are available in person or virtually, and I tailor each one to your audience and goals.

Popular topics

  • Inclusive Leadership in Action: concrete tools for workplace cultures where everyone belongs

  • From Conflict to Clarity: moving from identity-based conflict to a transparent culture

  • Leading Through Change Without Losing Your People

  • Building Belonging in Teams and Workshops

  • Feedback That Actually Works

  • Managing Up, Leading Out: building strong relationships between leaders

These are starting points. Most of my sessions are custom-designed.

Who I work with

Colleges and universities
Tulane University, Tufts University, Fordham University, Sarah Lawrence College, Weber State University, Coastal Carolina University, Providence College, and the University of Washington

Research and STEM communities
The Institute for Mathematics and Its Applications, the Pacific Institute for the Mathematical Sciences, and the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine, with workshops on inclusive environments and identity-based conflict

Independent schools and K-12
The National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), the Northwest Association of Independent Schools (NWAIS), and Leadership and Design, where I’ve co-facilitated Leadership Lab and Culture Lab programs

Professional associations and national conferences
NCORE, the POD Network, INDEX DEI Conference, and the Gardner Institute

Recent and upcoming engagements

  • Co-facilitator, “What the Future (WTF),” Leadership and Design (Fort Worth, TX)

  • “Holding Others Capable: Creating Shared Responsibility and Sustainable Systems,” INDEX DEI Conference (Atlanta, GA)

  • “From Witnessing to Practice: A Reflective Dialogue,” NYU Truth, Lens, & Power Symposium

  • Co-facilitator, “Futures Thinking: Nurturing and Sustaining Our Community,” INDEX DEI Conference (Salt Lake City, UT)

  • “Building Belonging in a Workshop Environment,” Roots of Unity Workshop

  • Co-facilitator, “Leadership Lab,” Leadership and Design (Dobbs Ferry, NY)

  • “Managing Up, Leading Out,” INDEX DEI Conference (Denver, CO)

  • Co-facilitator, “Seeing School Culture, Shaping School Culture: A Design Thinking Experience,” NAIS Annual Conference (St. Louis, MO)

  • Co-facilitator, Leadership Lab and Culture Lab, Leadership and Design

Extended programs

I also lead multi-day institutes, including Tulane University’s Inclusive and Equitable Course (Re)Design Institute (2021-2023) and a UChicagoGRAD seminar on preparing for a career as a DEI practitioner.

Interested in booking a session?

Scholarship & Writing

Identity, home, and belonging across the Indian Ocean world

Before I was a leadership coach, I was a literature scholar, and the questions that drive my research still shape how I work: Who gets to belong, and how do people build a sense of home across borders, histories, and languages?

My research focuses on postcolonial literature of the Afro-Indian Ocean world, particularly the writing of South Asians in East and South Africa and the literary connections between the Indian and Atlantic Ocean worlds. I hold a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago.

Essays and publications

Teaching

I’ve taught literature and humanities at the University of Chicago, including courses on the global South Asian diaspora, comparative migrations, and transnational fiction, and I’ve given guest lectures at NYU and Brown. At Rowland Hall, I taught an independent study in African postcolonial literary studies and regularly facilitate workshops and programs. I also designed Columbia’s open online course on inclusive teaching, which reached more than 18,000 learners.

Service to the field

  • South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA): Co-Chair of the Academic Council and member of the Editorial Collective for Tides, its online magazine

  • Tanner Humanities Center, University of Utah: Community Advisory Board member

  • POD Network: former Chair of the Diversity Committee and co-founder of the Educational Developers of Color Affinity Group

Testimonials

“I have always loved going to workshops led by Chandani: she is knowledgeable, articulate, and clear. Her pedagogical choices in the workshop help move the conversation forward. I felt good leaving this workshop because we spent most of our time focused on what to do going forward, rather than complaining about the challenges we've faced. Simultaneously, I always felt that the challenges that were voiced felt affirmed and legitimized. Chandani's skill as a facilitator really showed through in this workshop!”

“Chandani's organization of our time together and clarity with the material presented most contributed to my learning. There was no confusion of what was expected of us and a flexibility to the program to allow for questions. Placing us in groups also helped to ground the discussions and create more cohesion.”

“Chandani did a great job moderating and leading activities and prompting discussion. She also followed up with more information after each session, which I found very useful.” 

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