Sonny Thadani

Sonny Thadani is the co-founder and CEO of Robin.

Seven years ago, Sonny Thadani met a father who lost his son in the tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, CT. He introduced Sonny to the Sandy Hook Promise, an organization dedicated to preventing gun violence in schools by teaching young people to recognize, intervene and get help for individuals who may be socially isolated or at risk of hurting themselves or others. Sonny was so inspired by their mission, which was all about creating a culture change that destigmatizes talking about mental health.

Sonny began reflecting on his own life and realized the big impact that mentors and coaches have had on my happiness, well-being and fulfillment. Working with a coach encouraged him to deepen his relationship with himself and taught him certain tools, like mindfulness, that allowed him to make better decisions, improve his relationships and build resilience. All skills that he wished he had learned as a teenager so that he could have more readily handled challenges such as my parents’ divorce or being cut from the high school basketball team.

Sonny co-founded Robin with Scott Farber to bring the power of human connection to schools through coaches like those who so greatly impacted him. Robin’s coaches help destigmatize the mental health conversation by creating safe spaces in schools for all students to be able to open up about their challenges, support each other, and ask for help when they need it.