Since joining Hopelab as Executive Vice President three years ago, Sandhu has significantly expanded the organization’s reach and impact. Under his leadership, Hopelab launched two cohorts of the HBCU Translational Science Fellowship to advance Black youth mental health research by supporting research faculty and career researchers at Historically Black Colleges and Universities. He’s advocated for the Responsible Technology Youth Power Fund, a first-of-its-kind philanthropic initiative that has raised more than $4.5 million in grants with funders including The Archewell Foundation, Pivotal Ventures, and Pinterest to support youth and intergenerational-led organizations shaping the responsible technology movement. Sandhu also helped incubate the Purpose Commons, founded in partnership with Cornell University to bridge the gap between the science of purpose and its practical application to young people. 

What’s your vision for Hopelab?

Jaspal: We are a researcher, an investor, a convener, and a builder. That is a pretty unique intersection of expertise. Each of those builds on the other. This rare perspective helps us identify opportunities that others might overlook.

We center young people in everything we do, having done so for over 20 years. What’s been different for us in the last few years is that we’ve pushed further. We’ve shifted power to young people, and we have integrated them into even more of what we do. I’m most excited to see our partners in the ecosystem doing the same. We see funders and researchers collaborating with young people, co-creating with them, and engaging them in these truly special ways. I view this shift as a significant accomplishment for all of us in the field. Power shifting forces us to set our ambitions higher. When we look to the future, we’ll be working with these young people who can see a future filled with imagination and hope — and that’s a huge inspiration for us here.

I genuinely believe in a future for Black, Brown, and Queer young people that is positive, hopeful, and imaginative — a future that is filled with joy and purpose. I think we can, I know we can achieve this vision. But it’s going to take different ways of working. It will require new creative partnerships and an even bigger shift of power to young people. It’s going to require us to help shape new narratives with and for young people out in culture and society. When we work together towards this vision, I think we can start to achieve a future that young people deserve.

What are you most excited about in your new role as the next President & CEO of Hopelab?

Jaspal: I’m most excited about working with and for Black, Brown, and Queer young people to build a future where they have joy, purpose, and connection in their lives. And we get to do that with some pretty amazing partners, young people, and other organizations that share our values. We also get to do it with a team here at Hopelab that’s pretty incredible. Passionate, smart people who also have enough humility to work with young people.

I’m honored to build on the incredible foundation Margaret and the team have created at Hopelab. Young people are leading with courage and imagination to nurture their mental health and well-being, even under the weight of systems not designed for them. By centering the voices and lived experiences of Brown, Black, and Queer young people, we can create solutions together that advance equity and belonging and shape a future full of joy and thriving.