Kanika Gupta
When I met Kanika Gupta, she had just been named one of “Canada’s Most Powerful Women” and described to me as “a force of nature in the social justice world”. She was all that and more — her passion and drive to empower young social entrepreneurs through her startup (which had just been featured in Forbes) left me in awe. Impressed by her story, I facilitated her joining me in Washington, DC, where we’d each deliver a TEDx talk in February of 2013.
And then, just two nights before the event, Kanika sustained a serious head injury. She was told it was a concussion that would slowly improve normally.
It didn’t.
For weeks she was forced to sit in the dark, finding almost any stimuli completely unbearable. She and her family and friends waited for her recovery. But as months turned into years, Kanika began to rethink what “recovery” actually meant, and to redefine who she was.
I consider her journey of redefinition and acceptance to be one of the most inspiring leadership stories to which I’ve been exposed. Kanika is now thriving as an artist — a part of her identity she may never have discovered if not for her injury. She now dedicates herself to using visual art, writing and storytelling to create dialogue and to evoke thought by challenging cultural views on health, beauty, wholeness and worth.
Kanika agreed to talk about her journey about a year ago on the Day One Leadership Podcast. I’ll be honest, it took some convincing, and she scrapped with me a little on a few things, but it was one of the most fascinating conversations I’ve ever had. I highly encourage you to listen to her story:
Kanika Gupta on Day One Leadership
You can check out Kanika’s contribution to The Brain Project here, and she has recently launched the “BRAVE Comic Series”, which shines a light on the small acts of courage needed to carry on and find your own way forward following a head injury.
You can find out more about Kanika’s art at bykanika.com
