About International Deaf Academy (IDA)
IDA embarks on a path that will pave a holistic roadmap for deaf children as young as from birth till they are confident to make an independent living in the society.
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IDA shall enable every deaf child by building stepping stones for them, their family, their immediate surrounding and provide support with resources and professionals that influence their life directly or indirectly. The stepping stones set by IDA are its various programs being offered.
Team Profile
Managing Trustee
Nita Gopalakrishnan has a varied experience in Schools, Management Institutes, Corporates, grassroots and village level. These experiences helped her identify the gaps and work towards building holistic and comprehensive services to enable deaf children and young deaf people to achieve their full potential and make their lives better.
As Managing Trustee of Gopalakrishnan Foundation she is keen to make her father’s dream come true - to create an accessible world with enabling language environments for deaf children, youth and their families.
Nita as a hearing child to deaf parents - CODA, shares a close association with the deaf community. She witnessed the many challenges of her parents and other deaf in the community were the turning points in her life to work with the deaf community.
Nita Gopalakrishnan
Rahul Jain
Trustee
Rahul Jain is a certified sign language instructor, board member of World Federation of Deaf Youth Section, Chief Executive Officer with Yunikee Accessibility Services and associated with various organisations in the Deaf Community. Through his many roles in the community Rahul inspires the deaf in India to dream and achieve their goals.
As a trustee of the Foundation he is committed to ensuring that all deaf children and young adults get quality and equitable education through strong language learning environments.
Rahul is born deaf with deaf parents, sibling and a deaf spouse. His personal experiences of the challenges faced by deaf community drove him to work towards creating accessible solutions . He broke stereotypes and has lead various deaf activities in India.
Director
Atiya Hajee realizing the gaps in communication with the deaf, learnt Indian Sign language and has worked with the deaf community in various roles ranging from sign language interpreting, educator, interpreter trainer, language support and customizing content for deaf.
As Director at International Deaf Academy she is keen to build an eco-system enabling continuous learning for deaf children and their families to overcome their challenges.
Atiya a sibling of a deaf adult has closely experienced the struggles & challenges of the Deaf and the immediate family due to the many limitations in Society. She is closely associated with the deaf community and has worked with various organisations guiding them to build a deaf centric approach.
Atiya Hajee
Chaithanya Kothapalli
Director
Chaithanya has over 25 years of strategic and tactical experience in the Indian IT industry, leading strategic initiatives in people transformation space. His work in organizations like General Electric, Cognizant, and Omega Healthcare, helped transform their talent acquisition, management, and skill-building over the years
He constantly challenges conventional wisdom with data, business context, and process design.
As Director at International Deaf Academy, he brings to the forefront strong management, planning and execution taking the institution to global heights.