Meet our ELP alumni

Masfufah is a principal at SLB Matahati, the Matahati School for Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment/Deafblind.

Wilson A. Abugri is the Unit Head of Unit for the Blind in Cape Coast School for the Deaf/Blind.

Moatasem is licensed and registered occupational therapist.

Nina is a teacher at the Demonstration School for the Deaf (Centre for Deafblind Children) in Mampong, Ghana. She has been a teacher of the deafblind, blind and visually impaired for over sixteen years. She has a vast experience in working with children of varied age groups, and has written articles for the DbI Review Magazine. She is also a member of the Good Start early intervention team.

Ana Lilia is a special educator at the Ministry of Education in Costa Rica, where she has worked for fifteen years with students up to age thirteen. She is working hard to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities and their families, bringing opportunities to develop skills and create environments full of respect, equality, and rights for all members of society in her country.

Retired but still active in the field, Isabel continues to provide teacher trainings and consultations related to her area of expertise. In 2011, Perkins awarded her the prestigious Anne Sullivan Macy Medal for outstanding service to the deafblind community.

Veronica works as the coordinator of the Asociacion Civil Identidades Para Personas con Discapacidad Multiple (ACIPDIM), a nongovernmental organization created by parents and professionals that offers educational services for students of all ages with multiple disabilities and deafblidness. She is also a professor and teacher trainer at the National University of Rio Cuarto.

Mirla is a community outreach coordinator at Universidad Central de Chile. She is a lecturer, now training other teacher and parents around her country.

Samir is an educator of children with deafblindness and multiple disabilities at Nida Society. As the assistant manager of the deafblind unit, part of his responsibilities include supervising and training teachers, assessing students and developing IEPs. 

Millicent is a teacher at the Akropong School for the Blind in Ghana. She has been a teacher of the deafblind, MDVI, blind and visually impaired for over six years. She is also a member of her the Good Start early intervention team.

Carolina is a Speech and Language Pathologist at Amapolas Special School in Chile. Her expertise is to work with student with severe disabilities and significant cognitive, physical and social needs. 

Cornelia is an associate professor at the State Pedagogical University, where she teaches future special educators and a speech therapist in Chisinau. She earned her doctorate degree in in special psychology in 2003 and is currently working toward a second PhD in special pedagogy. Cornelia has also published a textbook, worked as a researcher on inclusive education projects with colleagues from Spain, Belarus and Ukraine, and founded VITA – a nongovernmental organization that provides mental health consultations and services.

In addition to her responsibilities as the Educational Program Coordinator at Mali Dom, a center for MDVI children in Croatia, Martina is a PhD student in language and cognitive neuroscience at the University of Zagreb.

Rebecca is a training specialist and education program specialist at Research Triangle Institute International in Kenya.

Chrissie is a Lecturer at Montfort Special Needs Education College in Malawi. Her mission and role are to train educators so they can better teach children with deafblindness.

Maria teaches at Mackenzie Presbyterian University in Sao Paulo, Brazil. In 2011, Perkins awarded her the prestigious Anne Sullivan Macy Medal for outstanding service to the deafblind community.

Perla works as coordinator of Educational Inclusion at the Franciscan Institute for people with visual impairment.

Alburga is the assistant director and coordinator of the Deafblind Unit at the Jeevan Jyoti Institute for the Disabled.

Dede is a Teacher Trainer for the Indonesian Ministry of Education and they work in partnership with Perkins International Academy to provide training all over the country. 

Stalin teaches children with deafblindness at the National Institute for Empowerment of Persons with Multiple Disabilities. He is also a researcher and teacher trainer.

Ani works as a speech language pathologist, teacher of the visually impaired and resource teacher at the Specialized Children’s home of Kharberd. She has earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in pedagogy and psychology at the Armenian State Pedagogical University after Kh.Abovyan.

Ruchi is the Cofounder and Director of the Sankalp Pediatric Rehabilitation Center in India. Ruchi’s specialties include parent training, early intervention, early screening and assessment of high-risk deliveries, and neurodevelopmental therapy.

Oriana is a professor and the deputy coordinator of the master’s program in special education with multiple needs at the Metropolitan University of Educational Sciences (Universidad Metropolitana de Ciencias de la Educacian, or UMCE) in Santiago, Chile. She has been working in the field since 1981, and helped start the master’s program for teachers of the blind with multiple disabilities at UMCE in 2000.

Anna holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English Philology from the Southern Federal University in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. She works at the Rostov Special Boarding School No. 38 as an English teacher to children ages 8-19 years of age. She also conducts lessons to children with MDVI at their homes for those unable to attend school due to their disabilities.

Edith teaches children with deafblindness at Uhuru Mchanganyiko Primary School. She also has experience training community workers for home-based educational programs. She is most proud when she sees her students living independently after school.

Claxton is from Antigua and Barbuda and lives in New York. He works as a Diplomat of the Permanent Mission of Antigua and Barbuda to the United Nations. He specializes in academics, administration and management, assistive technology, braille and low vision.

Mai is a special educator at Nida Society. She has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a post-graduate diploma in psychology services. Mai decided to become a special educator after first meeting a deafblind child. The experience changed her thinking, personality and career.

Enock is the Head Teacher at the Kuja Unit for the Deafblind in Rongo. He has provided training courses about Kenyan Sign Language and has a vast experience repairing braille machines all over the country.

Estefana is a Special Education Teacher at Helen Keller National Education Center in Costa Rica. She has a rich experience providing home-based services to indigenous populations with disability across the country.

Amal is the chairperson of the board of Hope City Foundation and works as a speech therapist and habilitation consultant for deafblind students at Nida Society, an Egyptian nonprofit that provides early intervention services to deaf and deafblind children. She has translated the Callier-Azusa Scale, an assessment tool for deafblind children, into Arabic and advocates for the educational rights of deafblind people and those with multiple disabilities.

Fahmidah is a Manager at Healthy Communities and her roles include managing and implementing health programs, training, curriculum development, and awareness-raising programs for Special Olympics South Africa.

Graciela is a former professor of visual impairment and deafness at the National University of Cordoba and a former professor of special education management at the Catholic University of Cordoba, both in Argentina. For more than 20 years she worked to improve the education and quality of life for children who are blind, deafblind and have multiple disabilities in Latin America & the Caribbean.

Eric has worked as an educator at Bartimea School since 2007. He started his career as a teacher in 2000 by teaching adults who became blind at a later stage of their lives.

Mei is a teacher at Shanghai School for the Blind.

Lindon is an itinerant teacher of children with multiple disabilities and visual impairment at the St. Lucia Blind Welfare Association. He earned his associates degree in teacher education from the University of the West Indies and is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education from Ashworth College.

Basem is a registered clinical psychologist at the University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. He is certified by the Dutch Institute for Psychologists in Child Guided Strategies for children with deafblindness and multiple disabilities (Van Dijk approach).

Benita is a behavior counselor for children with deafblindness, low vision and multiple disabilities at the Olga Estrella Resource Center for the Visually Impaired. She studied academic orientation at the University of Santo Domingo UASD.

Carmen is an Educational Program Manager at FUNDAL (Fundacian guatemalteca para ni_os con sordoceguera Alex, the Guatemalan Foundation for Children with Deafblindness).

Burcu is a visual impairment specialist at the Ümit Kaplan Special Education Vocational Training Center and has extensive experience in the special education field.

Li is a teacher at Taiyuan School for the Blind with a love for special education. She graduated from Nanjing School for Special Education, majoring in blindness education. Li also earned her master’s degree in education from Beijing Normal University.

Nguyen Thi Hang works as a Special Education Researcher at the Institute of Educational Science in Vietnam. 

Sister Thao works with children with disabilities at the Thien Hoa Center for Blind Children in Bac Ninh, Vietnam.

Huang is a senior teacher, associate researcher and deputy director of the Sichuan Institute for Educational Research. She also works as a special education advisor at Sichuan Normal University.

Jigna holds a Bachelors Degree from Gujarat University and a Diploma in special education from Aliyavar Jung National Institute for the Hearing Handicapped. She works at the Blind People’s Association, Center for Children with Special Needs as a Project Manager. Jigna’s job responsibilities include identification, IEP development, assessment and parent training.

Frank is a teacher at the Demonstration School for the Deaf (Centre for Deafblind Children and Youth) in Ghana. He has been a teacher of the deafblind, MDVI, blind and visually impaired for over twelve years.

Stella is an education consultant at the Jofreshua Achievers Special Centre. She works to support children with disabilities through supporting parents, training teachers, assisting children and advocating for their rights.

Emi Kamei is a teacher at the Japan Deafblind Association. Besides her many skills, she has experience working as an interpreter for persons with deafblindness and as a math teacher for hearing impaired high school students. 

Arathi is a project coordinator at Shree Ramana Maharishi Academy for the Blind in Bangalore, India, where she started the deafblind section in 2012 and developed an intervention plan for children with low vision.

Joyce is a lecturer in special needs education at Montfort SNE College with a specialization in visual impairment, multiple disabilities and deafblindness. She previously worked as an itinerant teacher of the visually impaired. Joyce earned a bachelor’s of education from the University of Malawi and a diploma in education from the Domasi College of Education. She also volunteers with the Malawi Union of the Blind and the Visually Impaired and Hearing Impaired Membership Association.

Lilit is a lecturer, psychologist and the chair of Special Pedagogy and Psychology at Armenian State Pedagogical University. She also works as a psychologist at the M. Izmirlyan Children’s Home in Yerevan and is the founder of both the Ambra Mental-Well Being Center and the Heartbeat Center of Social-Psychological Assistance of Parents of Children with Inborn Heart Diseases. Lilit earned her master’s degree in psychology in 2002 from Yerevan State University and is working toward her PhD in psychology.

Ashraf is a special teacher at the Narjes School for the Blind. She earned her master’s degree in curriculum studies at Payame Noor University and is working toward her PhD at Kharazmi University. Ashraf is an experienced educator, teacher trainer and orientation and mobility instructor. She was also one of the first special educators in Iran to produce braille teaching materials using computer software.

Malle is a teacher of deafblind children at Tallinn Helen’s School and a worker at Estonian Support Union of Deafblind. She has been working with deaf children and young people since 1995, and teaching since 2007.

Anne is the assistant EARC coordinator at the Ministry of Education. A teacher by profession, she worked with the regular education, and with visually impaired students with multiple disabilities for more than 15 years. She currently works with a multidisciplinary team at a main referral hospital.

Benjamin is a program officer at Sense International in Tanzania, an organization that works to empower deafblind/MSI people and their families. Previously he worked for the government of Tanzania as a special needs education officer in the Mufindi district, and before that as a teacher of the deaf at Iringa School for the deaf. He holds a bachelor’s degree in special needs education with a focus on cognitive disabilities from Tumaini University in Tanzania.

George works as a lecturer at Kyambogo University in the area of curriculum studies, with a focus on curriculum adaptation for learners with visual impairment. He is interested in research on mathematics education for learners with visual impairment, braille education, low-vision and educational materials adaptation.

Ying is a preschool teacher and works in the resource center at the Chengdu School of Special Education. She also trains teachers and parents around her country.

Pikul holds an M.Ed and a Ph.D. from Chiang Mai University. She work for the same University as a lecturer.

Celina is a special education teacher at the Special Education Centre in Vieux Fort. Though the materials needed to work with the children are not readily available, she is motivated to find adaptive solutions in order to make them comfortable.

Ming is an associate professor in the Special Education Department at East China Normal University. She has a degree in psychology and was a visiting scholar at Boston College from 2012 to 2013. Ming is a member of the Chinese Association for Parents Having a Child with Visual Impairment’s team of experts and is also a board member of the Chinese Blind Persons Association and the Association for Individuals with Retina Degeneration.

Mary is the head teacher of the deafblind program at the Kilimani Integrated School in Nairobi, Kenya. In addition to her many specialties, she is a specialist in Kenyan Sign Language.

Marta works as a Special Educator and Low Vision Therapist at the Polish Association for Persons with Mental Disorders. She also has experience teaching dance classes to blind young students and lecturing about low vision.

Irina is an educator at the School for Deaf Children in Russia, where for the past twelve years she has worked mostly with children with multiple disabilities and deafblind students. She also works with deafblind adults as an interpreter-guide and a psychologist at the charitable organization Usher-Forum.

Rajabu is the executive director at Deafblind Assistance Services (DBAS). He has participated in the preparation of curriculum for the community-based education in Tanzania, trained specialist teachers at Patandi Teachers College’s Visual Impairment Department, conducted training for community leaders in Arusha region, and mobilizing a group and registered an NGO dealing with children with multiple disabilities and deafblindness in Tanzania.

Edmond is a teacher at the Uganda School for the Deaf _ Ntinda. He teaches learners who are deafblind and prepares them for vocational training.

Edwin is a project officer at Nairobi Family Support Services. His training as a photojournalist served as a gateway into his current role serving the families of children with special needs.

Natalia Nadal is a psychologist who works for Asociacion Mexicana Anne Sullivan and for ASOMAS, providing services for children with deafblindness and multiple disabilities. She has experience in teacher training and collaborates with the delivery of Perkins International Academy courses in Mexico.

Fiona is an occupational therapist working mainly with infants and children with developmental disabilities and school-based challenges. She worked for nearly five years at Arthur Blaxall School for the Blind and has experience in a variety of fields, including visual impairment and multiple disabilities.

Mable is a teacher of deafblind children at the St. Mark School for the Deaf in Bwanda, Uganda.

Scovia is a consultant for Kyambogo University in Kampala, Uganda.  

As a mother of a youth with MDVI herself and as the Principal of a special education school, Rabeya Yeasmin works with the Disabled Rehabilitation and Research Association in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

Joyce is the head teacher at the Deafblind Unit at the Kwale School for Deaf. She coordinates the teaching and learning at the unit and also works with families of children with deafblindness in the community.

Huong is the head of the Multiple Disabilities and Visual Impairment Section at Nhat Hong Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired. With more than 16 years of experience in working with children who are blind and MDVI, she plans and implements IEP for her students and trains other teachers and parents.

Ksenia is a Teacher at Deafblind Support Foundation “Con-nection” and works as a lecturer for Lesgaft’s University. Her specialties include adapted physical education, sports and health, and recreation and leisure. She is training educators and other professionals across her country as well as leading the first volunteer group who serve people with deafblindness in Saint Petersburg.

Tereza has been an early intervention consultant at the Association for Early Intervention, a non-governmental organization in the Czech Republic, since 2007. This organization provides professional services and consultations to families of children with disabilities and helps them so their children can be raised in their natural environment. As a new mother, Tereza now better understands how important it is to encourage parents to feel qualified to educate and support the development of their children.

Omolola is the Learning Director of Happy Tots Enrichment Center, which operates inside one of Nigeria’s largest teaching hospitals. 

Claudia is a Specialist Teacher in Mexico’s Department of Special Education. In addition to her specialties, she has a specialty in intellectual disability. She has consulted for online courses on multiple disabilities and deafblindness in her country.