Our Board
A special educator by profession, Maria Santamaria (known as Sarah), started by teaching at a school for children with special needs in Mumbai. A Masters in Special Education in the Cardinal Stritch College, Milwaukee, and work experience in job coaching uniquely equipped her to start a Vocational Training Centre for differently-abled adults and led to her founding the Diya Foundation in 1999.
A graduate in Philosophy and a post - graduate in Human Resources Management and Industrial Relations, he has handled all aspects of the human resources during a career spanning over three decades and brings this expertise to the Diya Board.
Commissioned into the Parachute Regiment in 1971, retired from active service in 2005, joined Reliance Retail as their Admin Head for Karnataka for a period of three years, now brings his experience and expertise in Administration to the Board of Diya Foundation as a Trustee.
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Our Staff
Shirley's optimistic outlook and her passion to make a difference in the lives of the students are what make her a valued member of the Diya family. She coordinates the Life skills training program and works with trainees to ensure that they learn the skills and competencies required to be productive members of society.
Dr. Babita has a Masters in Social Sciences (Psychology) and a Phd in Psychology. She works with our beneficiaries and their families on building self determination and interpersonal skills like being appreciative, building up self confidence and achieving job readiness skills for the future. Beneficiaries have really benefitted from the individual and group sessions.
Jerusha has a master's degree in Psychology from Montfort, Bengaluru. She plans Employability goals, organizes lessons, and monitors the advancement of her students. She makes sure that they develop all the skills they will need to face challenges ahead. Her excellent knowledge of technology and undying support makes her a treasured member of the team.
Padma works towards building our beneficiaries on self-dependence by teaching them new employable skills. She implements and ensures that the livelihood activities run systematically with our project partners. She also conducts capacity-building workshops for parents and shares the best practices in the hope of creating new career opportunities.