Waidehi Gokhale. As the CEO of Soliya, a pioneering not-for-profit organization that provides innovative technology enabled global exchange and education programming in partnership with institutions of higher education, Waidehi drives the growth strategy behind Soliya’s vision to proliferate disruptive practices in education that counter the culture of fear stemming from a lack of exposure to difference and global diversity.
Waidehi is a frequent commentator and speaker in the emerging field of Virtual Exchange and has spoken at events and fora across North America and Europe such as the US Department of Education EdTalks, The United States Institute for Peace, NAFSA (Association of International Education) Annual Conference, Build Peace hosted by Massachusetts Institute of Technology and The Euro-Mediterranean Forum Malta, to name a few.
Waidehi was born in India, grew up in Hong Kong and has lived in the UK, Canada and the United States. With over 18 years of experience in the fields of psychology, peacebuilding and education she has seen first-hand the transformative power of meaningful cross-cultural exchange and education for young people. She is a leading voice in advocacy for the viability of virtual exchange as a means to shift the way societies deal with difference; moving from confrontational approaches to collaborative ones. Waidehi holds an MA in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) from the Fletcher School at Tufts University, an MA in Counseling Psychology from Boston College and a BA in Literature & Philosophy from the University of York, UK.
Sneak Peek Into What You’ll Learn…
01:12 – Waidehi tells us about Soliya’s mission to support dialogue among young people in order to decrease conflict between communities.
04:30 – Waidehi discusses her career journey and how she pivoted multiple times before landing in her current role.
09:50 – We learn how Waidehi and her husband juggle frequent work travel with managing family life, without assistance from local family or formal childcare arrangements.
12:55 – Waidehi shares the advice she would give to anyone considering a career with international travel while raising a family.
14:54 – Waidehi discusses the grit that is developed in each family member by learning to juggle busy work lives and family life.
22:27 – Waidehi describes the lessons she’s learned about work and family life by looking back over the past 15 years and how she learned to return to center.
28:50 – Waidehi shares how she recalibrated her life after a pivotal, life-changing moment.
32:27 – Waidehi tells us more about what are non-negotiables for her and her family.
37:20 – Brass Tacks— The lightning round of concrete advice and tips.
Quotable quotes:
- “You can’t view it [balancing family and work travel] as something that has a perfect script. There just isn’t one…some of the trips are going to be rough…but everybody survives and frankly the grit it brings out in you as a family, and also the grit it brings out in each member of the family, has been astonishing to me.”
- “Rather than the pressure of oh my God, these people are all relying on me, it was the counter of that which was, but if I don’t look after myself, then there is absolutely no way I can look after all of them.”
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