About Komal

I’m an advisor, speaker, mental health clinician, and certified coach with a bold vision for an equitable and inclusive world for all of us. Together, we will move beyond policies and promises into action that creates real, lasting change.

Why I do this work

As a woman of colour with nearly 20 years in leadership roles, my cultural identities have heavily influenced my experiences in the workplace.

I’ve experienced inclusive environments, including being sponsored, mentored and positioned for success, in part thanks to teams and organizations that valued and appreciated the differences I bring to the table. But I’ve also experienced exclusion, bias, microaggressions and feeling limited in my career, rooted in who I am and how I look.

Both sets of experiences have helped to form the leader I am today, and taught me what works, what can be harmful, and what can affect a sense of belonging and psychological safety in the workplace.

I've learned and practiced what works, and through this, I've cultivated a set of personal and organizational strategies and tools that I share with Insayva clients.

I carry out this work full of hope and optimism about what can be achieved in an inclusive workplace.

My education and credentials

I am a registered social worker and certified health executive, with master’s degrees in social work and health sciences, and a Doctor of Social Sciences degree.

I bring two decades of experience in DEI and mental health training, policy and planning, and one-on-one practice. I am a certified intercultural competence coach and provider of the Intercultural Development Inventory, the leading validated tool for measuring readiness for inclusion at the individual and organizational levels.

As a mental health clinician and policymaker, I have worked in hospitals, with community agencies, across levels of government, and private-sector companies in the areas of anti-oppression, mental health inclusion, psychological safety, burnout prevention, racial trauma and resilience, and allyship.

Over the past 5 years, I have delivered curated training to thousands of people, and coached hundreds of leaders around the world, bringing a specialized focus on the intersections between inclusion and workplace mental health.

A bit more about me

I live in Toronto, where I was born and grew up. I love to travel and have spent a lot of my life exploring the world.

I have trained extensively as a yoga teacher, with a specialization in breathwork, mindfulness, and resilience.

I have volunteered for many years on boards of several organizations committed to supporting child, youth and late-life mental health.

In my quiet time, I like to cook, paint and cuddle with my fur babies.

What Insayva means

Being a South Asian woman born to Punjabi Sikh immigrant parents, I have been richly influenced by my culture, my heritage and Eastern philosophy.

The name Insayva is inspired by the Indian practice of “sayva” or “seva,” which means “service” in the ancient language Sanskrit.

Sayva encompasses courage and strength in giving of yourself — with an open heart and open hands — and fighting for justice to uplift our collective, and connected, spirits.

My mission is to be “in sayva” or “in service” to individuals, organizations, and communities seeking to make the world better through DEI and mental health. My intent is to be bold in pursuit of equity, anti-oppression, social justice, and wellbeing for all.

About Komal

Why I do this work

My education and credentials

A bit more about me

What Insayva means

Get in touch

Land Acknowledgement

About Insayva

Get in touch