Meet Janaki
Janaki Krishnaswamy
Co-Chief Impact Officer
Meet our wonderful volunteer, Janaki Krishnaswamy! Janaki has been a dedicated, long-time volunteer with Minds Matter. She started her journey as a mentor in 2016 and has since mentored 3 girls who have all decided to pursue careers in STEM—1st mentee has a BS in Computer Science and is a product manager at a multinational technology company, 2nd mentee is pursuing Chemical Engineering at UC Berkeley, and 3rd mentee has enrolled in Sacramento State!
In addition to her tremendous impact on our students, Janaki was also Parent Engagement Lead for 2 years and served as Impact Lead for 3 years. The unparalleled time and contributions that Janaki has devoted to our community resulted in her joining the leadership team as Co-Chief Impact Officer in 2021.
“It’s been extremely gratifying to apply experiences from my personal journey as an immigrant student and a parent, towards mentoring some of the brightest young minds in the Bay Area.”
What Is Your Favorite Part of Minds Matter? My favorite part of Minds Matter is the culture and the set of core values all of us bring to the session every Saturday. Every Saturday, I look forward to meeting my mentee and listening to her stories. Even though it has been several years since my first 2 mentees graduated from MMSF, they keep in touch, telling me about their experiences at college or at work.
How Have You Benefited Personally From Your Experience at Minds Matter? Minds Matter has given me a lot more than an opportunity to volunteer. Our students come from diverse backgrounds. Listening to their stories, successes, challenges, dreams, and passions has been the most rewarding part of my experience at Minds Matter. I have also learnt a lot about their family and cultural traditions. Having the opportunity to work with some of the smartest talented young minds (students and volunteers) has been most rewarding.
What Does Minds Matter Mean to You? Minds Matter is a community of kind and caring people who genuinely care and help each other. Minds Matter is like a family to me.
What Has Been Your Favorite Social Event or Gathering? During my first year as a mentor, we had a Thanksgiving lunch. We were told to get ready for the Mannequin Challenge. I was the only one from my generation and did not know what that was. I had to feverishly text my sons, who were in college at that time, to find out what I was supposed to do! Since then there have been many occasions where I had to text my sons for help on current social activities and lingo (which has kept me young!).