Chandani Patel, PhD

I am a leadership coach dedicated to helping leaders align their core values with their leadership practices to inspire teams and drive meaningful, lasting impact. Blending strategic insight with empathy and practical tools, I guide individuals and teams through growth, transformation, and complexity. My work focuses on enhancing team dynamics, strengthening communication, and leading organizational change—all while cultivating the self-awareness and emotional intelligence essential for effective leadership.

 

At the heart of my approach is a commitment to building inclusive, high-performing environments grounded in shared values and collective vision. As an evidence-based scholar, I also teach literature, the humanities, leadership development, and social-emotional learning, with a focus on fostering equitable and inclusive learning and workplace cultures.

 

I hold a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago, and a B.A. in Comparative Literature and an M.A. in Humanities and Social Thought from New York University. My scholarly work focuses on transnational networks and questions of home and belonging within the Afro-Indian Ocean, with particular attention to the literature of South Asians in East and South Africa, as well as on literary connections between the Indian and Atlantic Ocean worlds. I serve as the co-chair of the Academic Council as well as on the Editorial Collective for the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA).  

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I am currently the inaugural Director of Equity and Inclusion at Rowland Hall, an independent preK-12 school in Salt Lake City.