Senior Regional Educational Specialist, Asia Pacific Region
Dr. Namita Jacob is an educational specialist who develops inclusive communities throughout Asia.
Namita’s work with Perkins is focused on developing quality sustainable programs and services for children with disabilities and their families through collaborative partnerships with government, universities, and civil society organizations. With more than 30 years of experience, she is a skilled facilitator, shaping quality services for children in early years and life-long learning opportunities for individuals with sensory impairment and deafblindness. Recognized internationally for her contributions to the field of deafblindness and multiple disabilities, Namita has co-authored books like Helping Children Who are Blind with Sandy Neimann and WHAT and HOW Does This Child See? with Dr. Lea Hyvärinen, which have been translated and used as resources by professionals and families all over the world. Her educational background includes a PhD from UC Berkeley and San Francisco State University in the areas of complex sensory impairment, early childhood and family support, and program evaluation. As an external faculty with several colleges and universities, she carries the disability perspective into diverse professional development programs including engineering, design, education and medicine.
Namita has been awarded the first Beroz Vacha Memorial Award, given by the deafblind community in India, that recognizes outstanding individuals who recognize the potential of people who are deafblind and work tirelessly to enable them.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.” ―Walt Disney