Mentra: Creating a Neurodiversity Employment Network, w/ Jhillika Kumar | EDB 281

Exploring Different Brains

Mentra CEO & co-founder Jhillika Kumar discusses their work creating a platform to connect neurodiverse talent with employers. Jhillika Kumar is the co-founder and CEO of Mentra, a Georgia Tech graduate, and honorary degree recipient, and previous Grace Hopper Keynote speaker for neurodiversity empowerment. Jhillika’s passion for neurodiversity advocacy stems from her life experiences growing up as the sister of a nonspeaking autistic individual named Vikram and ADHDer herself. After 27 years of being unable to communicate his thoughts, Vikram learned how to type through an accessible letterboard. Uncovering his vast intelligence and eloquence inspired Kumar her to search for a solution to the need to empower those who society has overlooked. At Georgia Tech, Kumar partnered with Conner Reinhardt to found Mentra: the world’s largest neurodiversity employment network. After understanding the innate barriers to employment through community driven research, Mentra focused on the candidate experience to built a tech-platform that intelligently matches neurodiverse individuals with inclusive companies that value their unique abilities. For more about Mentra: https://www.mentra.me/ https://www.instagram.com/mentrateam/ https://twitter.com/mentrateam https://www.facebook.com/mentra.me/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/mymentra Follow Different Brains on social media: https://twitter.com/diffbrains https://www.facebook.com/different.brains/ https://www.instagram.com/diffbrains/ Check out more episodes of Exploring Different Brains! http://differentbrains.org/category/edb/