Chandani Shrestha

Chandani is a graduate fellow in Boston University’s MSW/MPH dual-degree program. She works closely with Betty Ruth on the Leadership Identification Project (LIP), a national effort to systematically identify social work leaders across diverse sectors of practice. Chandani is helping build a living directory that highlights the diversity of social work leadership, strengthens visibility, and supports collaboration to advance health, equity, and social change. 

Chandani has extensive experience working with diverse communities both locally and internationally. Most recently, she served as a Student Services Clinical Intern at Year Up United, an organization aimed at closing the socioeconomic divide in the U.S., where she provided therapeutic support, crisis intervention, and resource navigation to young adults.

Before moving to Boston for graduate school, she worked as a Health Prevention Specialist at Ryan Health, a federally funded clinic in New York City (NYC), where she focused on STI prevention, particularly HIV prevention, community outreach, and data management to support quality improvement projects. She also worked as a Science Educator and Research Mentor at Biobus, designing and teaching STEM curricula to under-resourced public schools in NYC. Additionally, Chandani gained international public health experience through her study abroad in Kenya with the School for International Training (SIT), where she engaged in field research on public health issues, including malaria, HIV/AIDS, and gender-based violence. 

Chandani holds a Bachelor of Arts in Global Studies and Interdisciplinary Science from The New School, where she completed her thesis on the relationship between trauma and chronic illnesses. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Clinical Social Work with a specialization in Trauma, Violence, and Justice, as well as a Master’s in Public Health at Boston University, focusing on Health Communication and Promotion.