Ananya Sampathkumar

Ananya Sampathkumar is a second-year MD/MPH student at McGovern Medical School and an Albert Schweitzer Fellow with a strong interest in health policy and systems-level change. Through her work with the Texas Jail Project, she hopes to promote mental health equity for individuals impacted by the justice system through education, awareness, and advocacy, while working to reduce the criminalization of mental illness. She is particularly interested in using health education and policy-informed resources to expand understanding of mental health needs and help create more equitable systems of sustainable care.

“I sought to work with the Texas Jail Project because I have always been interested in how we create meaningful change within public institutions, particularly systems where gaps in oversight, accountability, and access can have profound consequences for individuals and families. What stood out to me about TJP was that their approach does not stop at identifying systemic problems. They work directly with families, advocates, community organizations, and other partners to create networks of support for people who may otherwise have very few places to turn.

That combination of systems-level advocacy and deeply personal, community-based work is what resonated with me most. TJP has shown me that policy change and individual advocacy do not have to exist separately; each can strengthen the other. With TJP I hope to help make complex systems easier to understand, expand access to educational and advocacy resources, and strengthen the connections between communities and institutions so that people impacted by the jail system are better equipped to advocate for themselves and their loved ones.”

Learn more at Albert Schweitzer Fellow‘s.