Mason, Ohio

“If access to health care is considered a human right, who is considered human enough to have that right?”

Sahana Srikanth is a rising senior at William Mason High School and is excited to be a first year member of the SBHA Youth Advisory Council. Sahana’s passions are advocating for policy changes that support youth well-being across diverse communities and amplifying youth voices in public health decision-making. She is especially interested in the intersections of mental health, educational equity, and youth literacy. Sahana currently serves as Ohio State Captain for the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s STRIPED Eating Disorder Advocacy Initiative, where she collaborates with legislators to advance policies aimed at preventing the onset of eating disorders among youth. In addition, Sahana is the Executive Director of the Young Learners Foundation, a youth-led nonprofit focused on increasing access to literacy resources, and serves as a Deputy Director of Equality in Forensics, a national organization promoting equity in speech and debate. Through her role on the SBHA Youth Advisory Council, Sahana hopes to champion the critical work of School-Based Health Centers and help close gaps in healthcare access for young people nationwide.