Parantap Pandya

Parantap is a dedicated and well accomplished mental health professional with over 30 years of rich experience, excelling in crisis intervention, clinical counseling, and advocacy in multicultural settings. Conducted comprehensive assessments, diagnosing accurately, and managed complex cases in diverse environments such as in-patient, out-patient, residential, and community outreach programs. Forged effective collaborations with multiple agencies to guarantee efficient treatment delivery and adherence to care standards. Recognized for a profound understanding of the unique challenges faced by immigrant and refugee populations, bolstered by a distinguished track record in providing mental health services across a broad spectrum of demographics. Notable for leadership in mental health service provision, actively participating in panels and symposiums addressing critical mental health issues relevant to various ethnic and cultural groups. Committed to leveraging expertise in cross-cultural communication, advocacy, and collaborative care to enhance mental wellness.

Sesha Bolisetty

Sesha Bolisetty is a caregiver for a young adult with complex Health and Mental health challenges. He is passionate about mental health and is a committed volunteer for NAMI NJ and their multicultural program SAMHAJ. As a parent to a loved one with multiple disabilities, he has hands-on experience with complex challenges that families face in providing care and support for the impacted individuals with their growth/development and maintaining high quality of life. He is well versed with cultural, ethnic and gender aspects related to mental health support and in tackling the challenges as an effective caregiver. He is always ready to listen and share his experiences with caregivers, practitioners and policy makers. In his professional life, he serves as Senior Vice President of Nursing and Healthcare Education at Elsevier, a global leader in Healthcare information and analytics supporting Students, faculty and Healthcare Professionals.

Laxman Kanduri

Laxman is an active volunteer and advisory committee member of NAMI NJ's multicultural program SAMHAJ, and also a board member of NAMI NJ. He says, “As a family, We have been dealing with a young college drop-out son who was previously high-functioning but unfortunately got affected with mental illness for the past five years. Community help and support becomes crucial as the nature of the disease is such that there's no easy solution, treatment or therapy that actually exists in a perfect sense, coupled with the unpalatable fact, that it affects people of all ages, and from all walks of life to a high degree (one in five). They all need and deserve the steady attention and support from the remaining 4 out of 5 members of the society." In his professional life, Laxman is a recognized food processing authority, certified quality auditor and consultant to the tri-state food industry for over three and a half decades, afterschool STEM mentor for NYC public schools, Professor at KCC of the CUNY, Brooklyn and an adj.professor at NYU Steinhardt and Montclair State University. He's also currently serving as a member of the American Fisheries Advisory Committee, NOAA, National Marine Fisheries Service of the U.S. Dept. of Commerce representing the Mid-Atlantic States.