I aspire to live out the truest, highest expression of myself as a human being and empower individuals with disabilities to do the same.
My personal experiences with my non-speaking, autistic brother (and best friend) ignited my passion to advocate for disability rights as well as a career driven by a mission to create an inclusive world. I am a social impact entrepreneur, Diversity & Inclusion community builder, and speaker/advocate for disability empowerment.
About Me
At the age of 19, Jhillika became the CEO & Founder of Mentra, a startup focused on enabling individuals with disabilities to find meaningful careers. Mentra is the brainchild of both neurodiverse and neurotypical individuals, working synergistically to understand each other and be the bridge between autistic communities and inclusive recruiters. By leveraging artificial intelligence and accessible design, their team of 12 passionate disability advocates is growing as they prepare to launch their platform to the world in April!
FOUNDER & CEO AT MENTRA
At the age of 20, Jhillika was recognized for her work and won the AbitaB.org Student of Vision Award, where she delivered the keynote at the 2019 Grace Hopper Celebration to the largest international women in tech audience ever in assembly. In her captivating speech, she inspired over 15,000 women and young girls to leverage the power of empathy and their own technological talents to enable the one billion people who live with some form of a disability today. In her speech, she brought awareness to the neurodivergent community that is often sidelined by society’s policies, technologies and employment opportunities.
GRACE HOPPER KEYNOTE SPEAKER
ACCESSIBILITY PIONEER AT BOFA
After graduating from Georgia Tech, Bank of America offered Jhillika and Conner (Mentra's cofounder) Assistant Vice President roles to bring thought leadership towards designing technologies for individuals with disabilities in the Bank. She simultaneously has full-disclosure to continue her work growing her startup, Mentra. Having moved to Charlotte, she continues her work in the community as a speaker and entrepreneur to push past traditional barriers that often systematically seclude individuals with disabilities
TEDX GEORGIA TECH SPEAKER
In 2018, Jhillika delivered a TEDx talk about how accessible technology transformed her brother's life as it distracted his mind from the physical world of disability. The smile that it brought him is the smile she wants to bring to millions of others with disabilities. “You know what’s ironic is that I’ve learned most of my lessons from a boy who has never spoken a word in his life, ever,” she told the TEDx audience. “And if there is anything at all that I would like to do in this lifetime, I would like to take the lessons that boy has taught me and show to you how much he has to offer this world.”
Speeches
STUDENT OF VISION AWARD
In 2018, Jhillika delivered a TEDx talk about how accessible technology transformed her brother's life as it distracted his mind from the physical world of disability. The smile that it brought him is the smile she wants to bring to millions of others with disabilities.
FUTUREX LIVE PANEL
In 2018, Jhillika delivered a TEDx talk about how accessible technology transformed her brother's life as it distracted his mind from the physical world of disability. The smile that it brought him is the smile she wants to bring to millions of others with disabilities.
TEDX GEORGIA TECH SPEAKER
In 2018, Jhillika delivered a TEDx talk about how accessible technology transformed her brother's life as it distracted his mind from the physical world of disability. The smile that it brought him is the smile she wants to bring to millions of others with disabilities.
ABIE AWARD WINNERS
In 2018, Jhillika delivered a TEDx talk about how accessible technology transformed her brother's life as it distracted his mind from the physical world of disability. The smile that it brought him is the smile she wants to bring to millions of others with disabilities.
