University Canada West (UCW) is honoured to announce that Gary Thandi, a leading mental-health advocate and community-service innovator, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate during the University’s Fall 2025 Convocation.
Dr. Thandi is recognized for transforming profound personal loss into a movement that has reshaped the landscape of mental-health support in British Columbia and beyond. After losing his wife to frontotemporal dementia in 2017, he confronted the challenges of grief, trauma and limited mental-health resources firsthand. Instead of turning inward, he channelled his experience into building new pathways of care for others.
Compelled to remove the financial, linguistic and systemic barriers that often prevent individuals from seeking help, Dr. Thandi founded Moving Forward Family Services, a first-of-its-kind, low-barrier counselling organization serving communities across BC and the rest of Canada. With a commitment to offering services at little to no cost, the organization is sustained not by government funding, but by the generosity of community donors, donated office space and a deliberately lean operational model.
By supervising emerging counsellors, social workers and practicum students, Moving Forward Family Services has created an innovative support ecosystem that expands capacity while nurturing the next generation of mental-health professionals. Today, the organization supports 2,500 people every month, providing counselling in 30 languages and ensuring that marginalized, immigrant and low-income individuals are not left behind.
Beyond his work with the organization, Dr. Thandi has built a distinguished career in the public service as a settlement worker, victim services worker, probation officer, hospital social worker, and addictions and family counsellor. His professional breadth reflects a lifelong commitment to helping those navigating complex systems and personal crises.
Dr. Thandi is also a respected researcher whose work has advanced understanding of mental-health challenges among diverse populations, particularly South Asian communities and men. He co-led a landmark study on Culturally Adapted Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), which delivered transformative insights now influencing therapeutic practices across Canada. His contributions have shaped new training tools, encouraged greater cultural humility in clinical settings, and advocated for adapting traditional CBT to better reflect cultural identity, stigma and lived experience.
Dr. Thandi reminded students that we live in a society where many people suffer from lack of support, whether that be emotional, financial, physical or mental.
“I ask that you use that education you have, to of course improve your own circumstances, but also consider how you can improve our society, where so many are struggling,” he implored.
“I challenge each of you – regardless of what your educational background is - to use your skills and knowledge to better our society, particularly around how to support those who may be struggling with mental health and wellbeing.”
He also commented how the graduates energy and enthusiasm can “create change in the world.”
Through empathy, innovation and relentless advocacy, Dr. Thandi has redefined what accessible mental-health support can look like in Canada.
Dr. Thandi received a degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, during UCW’s Fall 2025 Convocation ceremony on December 3.
