Gauri Mehta

Trustee

A cultural educator and nonprofit leader with over two decades of experience bridging ancient wisdom with community service. Holds an MA in Ancient Indian Culture from the University of Mumbai and a Master’s in Art History from SMU.

Collaborates with a dedicated team as founder of AIM for Seva USA’s Albany Chapter, a non-profit addressing educational inequities for children in rural India through various fundraising initiatives. Together they organize annual musicals and the Good Karma 5K, supporting both educational programs and local food bank efforts.
Serves as Trustee of the Prafulla Dahanukar Art Foundation based in Mumbai India. The foundation provides a platform for emerging artists across India and conducts social impact initiatives in schools and old age homes that demonstrate art’s transformative power.

Since 2006, Gauri has served as Cultural Education representative for the Albany Hindu Temple Cultural Center. In this role she communicates Sanatana Dharma principles to local schools, colleges, and interfaith audiences. Gauri coordinated heritage classes (2003-2015) and worked with a team to foster understanding of Vedic roots and Indic values in children. She assisted in coordinating the Global Youth Leadership Program (2015-2017). This program creates pathways for diaspora youth to reconnect with their cultural roots as student teachers in a village in Tamil Nadu while developing global leadership capacities.

Her community service work has received multiple recognitions by these organizations. She combines pursuit of philosophical knowledge with nonprofit leadership to create meaningful connections for community harmony. The work is inspired by the vision that unity in diversity is fundamental to lasting peace.