Raj Girn

Rajwant Bhondy (born 11th March 1970), popularly known as Raj Girn, is a Canadian resident entrepreneur, radio/podcast, and confidence coach, consultant, mentor. She is the founder of the Anokhi Life blog, Open Chest With Raj Girn celebrity interview series, The Open Chest Confidence Academy, and The Transform Your Confidence Show interviewing experts and CEOs. Girn is best known for creating pop culture, lifestyle, and entertainment media content; awards, fashion, entertainment, and educational events and seminars; branding, marketing, media, and communications strategy and training.
Girn has received several awards and accolades in her diversified career of almost 2 decades. She has worked with celebrities, well-known personalities, and multi-national corporations to create and diversify awareness to niche audiences. Girn has done media and event campaigns with a number of high-profile personalities that include: Kim Kardashian, Robin Sharma, Nicole Scherzinger, Priyanka Chopra, Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan, Lilly Singh, Freida Pinto, and brands like: L’Oréal Paris, Estee Lauder, Shiseido, Pantene, Jeep, Huawei, Johnnie Walker, Ciroc, Hilton and Sheraton Hotels, and many others.
Girn has been featured in several media outlets such as Entrepreneur, Thrive Global, Fox, Hindustan Times, Medium, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Post, CBC, BBC Radio London, CBS, The Globe and Mail, and others.
==Early life and education==
Girn was born on 11th March 1970 in Leicester, England, United Kingdom, to immigrants from Punjab, India and she is the second eldest of 5 children. In 1992, she entered into an arranged marriage, which bought her to Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, where she lived until 2015. 
In 1997, Girn enrolled in Monroe Community College, in Rochester, New York, where she pursued an associate degree in Applied Science, specializing in Dental Hygiene. She graduated with Honours and a Distinction from the A.A.S. degree in 1999 and was awarded the Warner Lambert award. She practiced as a registered hygienist in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada from 1999 to 2008, and created the branding and marketing for her husband’s dental office at the ‘Home Of Dentistry’ in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada. 
In 2000, Girn applied for professional media courses in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, at Humber College and Ryerson University respectively, with a specialization in print and broadcast media, after which, she briefly interned at Rogers Communications, training to be a reporter. 
Associate's Degree In Applied Science specializing in Dental Hygiene, honours with distinction from Monroe Community College, Rochester, New York, 1997-1999.
==Career==
Girn started her media career in 2002 when she founded Anokhi VIBE, a pop culture, lifestyle, and entertainment magazine and website, which became ANOKHI magazine and blog in 2014, before expanded to include events, newsletter, and social media communities and becoming ANOKHI MEDIA. The most recent iteration took place in 2019 with ANOKHI LIFE, bringing the focus more deeply towards the issues, discussion, and content that the community was looking to engage in. The brand’s main focus was to connect two identities – one cultural (eastern) and one social (western), that the diasporic Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, and Sri Lankan communities (collectively known as the South Asian community), were grappling with.
Within five years of inception, Girn’s events portfolio made its mark by launching The ANOKHI Awards to commemorate the successes of the global South Asian community. In 2015, She created The ANOKHI List coffee table book. Anokhi, since its inception has gained much acclaim for its magazine and blog that covers a vast range of topics such as Culture & Lifestyle, Work-Life, What Pisses me Off!, Beauty, Fashion, Showbiz, Breaking News, Community Spotlight, and a radio show called ‘The Anokhi Uncensored Show’. The platform also offers several services including production, public relations, content/social/e-marketing, advertising, sponsorships, endorsements, branding, and many others. 
In 2020, Girn established The Open Chest Confidence Academy after years of practice as founder, CEO, media, and communications expert. This academy focuses on offering academic and skill-based learning, coaching, and consulting 1-on-1 services, courses, programs, seminars, retreats, conferences, and has a weekly podcast called The Transform Your Confidence Show, weekly e-newsleYouTube channel at The Open Chest Confidence Academy, a by invite only business networking incubator group on Facebook called transform Your Confidence, and social media at LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram, search @theopenchestconfidenceacademy. 
In her career of over two decades, Girn has managed to work with approximately 2500 clients by 2020, acquired a combined social media membership of over 1.2 million followers for her media network, and over 100,000 newsletter subscribers.
Her philanthropic portfolio includes raising funds and awareness for organizations such as: Doctors Without Borders, the Heart & Stroke Foundation, Canfar, Free-Them, and the Aga Khan Foundation, amongt others. 
Girn is also a published author, having authored a chapter in the #1 international best-selling book called 365 Empowering Stories.
==Awards==
* 1999: Winner of the Warner Lambert Professional Hygiene Award, Rochester, NY
* 2004: Winner of the SASA Outstanding Achievement in Journalism Award, Houston, TX
* 2005: Winner SAMA South Asian Lifestyle Magazine of the Year Award for ANOKHI Magazine, New York, NY
* 2005: Named amongst Desiclub’s 50 Coolest South Asians in the World List, New York, NY
* 2008: Named as one of Toronto’s South Asians to watch out for by the National Post newspaper, Toronto, ON
* 2013: Winner of the ICCC Woman Entrepreneur of the Year Award Presented by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLC, Toronto, ON
* 2015: Winner of The Inspirational Achiever Award Presented by Roshni Media, New York, NY
* 2016: Winner of The 14th International Women’s Day Achiever Award Presented by PCHS, Toronto, ON
* 2015: Featured in a collectible book celebrating South Asian achievers, ‘Roshni: Global & Emerging Leaders’, New York, NY
* 2019: Authored a chapter in #1 Best-Selling Book called, “365 Empowering Stories”, entitled: “Uncomfortable on Purpose”, Toronto, ON
* 2019: Inclusion in an Intention Deck of Cards, Featuring Inspiring and Empowered Women, Toronto, ON 
* 2021:	Usui Reiki Master
==Licences and certification==
* 2020: International Coach Federation Certified Coach & Member, (ICF)
* 2020: Flow Certified Coach (FCC)
==Personal life==
Girn has a son named Karam Girn, born in 1997 and a dog named Maximus, born in 2018, both of whom live with her in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She can speak, read, and write English, and speak Hindi and Punjabi.
==In the media==
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==References==
==External links==
* Personal Website
* www.Anokhilife.com
* www.TheOpenChestConfidenceAcademy.com
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* Raj Girn on Clubhouse
Category:1970 births
Category:Entrepreneurs
Category:Monroe Community College alumni
Category:Radio Podcast Hosts