Food for Thought, a Lunch-on-Us series, is a weekly noontime discussion focused on topics relevant to the Asian American community. Past discussions include topics such as nutrition, mental health, sexual health, and media representation of Asian Americans.
Growing up in the South Asian, Indian diaspora in Oman, earning her PsyD from The Chicago School of Professional Psychology and currently working as a pre-licensed clinical counselor at the Counseling Center, Dr. Megan Fernandes draws from her lived experiences and collective/cultural wisdom to inform her work to serve and promote mental health and wellness for all students, including those with intersecting marginalized identities. Dr. Fernandes serves as the co-chair of the Counseling Center's API Roots outreach team, identifying unique API American and International student needs, addressing gaps in services and building meaningful connections across campus. Dr. Fernandes also leads the Older Students Therapy group, serves as liaison to the i-School and runs the Expressive Arts Outreach. She is also a member of the LGBTQIA+ community and strives to uplift the BIPOC queer community on and off campus through various outreach efforts.
Dr. Kamau Grantham (he/him) is a clinical counselor at the Counseling Center, here at Illinois, where he has been on staff since 2014. He is a licensed clinical psychologist, earning his Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from St. John’s University, in New York City. Dr. Grantham has been working in the field of mental health for over 30 years and has clinical experience in various treatment milieus including: hospital & community based mental health settings; higher education; private mental health practice; and consulting.
At the Counseling Center Dr. Grantham is a member of the API Roots and Sankofa student outreach teams, co-leads a Black men’s therapy group, and is also the liaison to the Graduate College. He incorporates his passion of art, music, and self-compassion into his clinical work and empowers students to center their needs in their wellness journey.
This program is open to all eligible persons regardless of race, color or national origin. Reasonable accommodations are available upon request, please contact aacc@illinois.edu.