Neha Negandhi

TEDx speaker, radio show host, podcast host, magazine writer

I turn every obstacle into an opportunity! Neha Negandhi is a TEDx speaker, radio show host and certified life coach with 10+ years experience in interviewing 100's of leaders who have pivoted barriers to create positive change. Born in Chicago and raised in Charlotte, NC, my inner warrior has fought and overcome systemic, cultural, racial barriers all through understanding that external validation holds no light to inner well-being. I am an experienced speaker on sharing vulnerability and getting audiences engaged in understanding the why of self-introspection. I am a strong mental health advocate as my paternal grandmother’s certified depression made her unfit to mother. Neha is the co-founder and co-host of Lentil Soup for the Soul podcast.
I was born in Chicago and my family and I moved to Charlotte, NC when I was eight-years-old. Moving to the deep South was like coming into a foreign land (much more so than my parents home country of India!). Riding the school bus, kids would like "Do you live in a teepee?" just based on my brown skin and replying to their question that I'm Indian. I didn't know what a teepee was but I quickly found out. This led to traumatic identity issues and finding out who I was took a long, perilous journey. But I was always self-driven so I embarked on a path to find myself.
By trade I am a magazine writer which led me to start my own radio talk show. Not knowing anyone in the radio industry, that didn't stop me so I literally knocked on a radio station door asking them for my own show. They said no but it paved a path for me to find a home for my show at another station.
My show broadcasted on WMLB-Atlanta.
After the birth of my second child, I took a long break from my thriving media and consulting company. I'm restarting again (at age 50!) since both of my kids are thriving at school. I've started to co-host a podcast and I'm becoming Life Coach certified.
Being a guest on your show about how every obstacle can be shifted into an opportunity would be a honor.