LEXINGTON, MA– Vision-Aid announced that Priti and Mukesh Chatter will be the chief guests and keynote speakers for Vision-Aid’s 2022 annual event on Sunday, July 31, 2022 at 4:00 PM EST.
Priti and Mukesh Chatter are well-known community leaders who have acquired a reputation for their very successful entrepreneurship, leadership and philanthropic endeavors. They have a strong passion for giving back and helping the less fortunate around the world.
The 2022 event will feature a unique Broadway-style dance production “The Jewel of Justice – the saga of Kannagi”, featuring over 60 dancers and several dance teachers from New England, working under the guidance of renowned dance choreographer and producer from India, Madurai R. Muralidaran.
Vision-Aid has acquired a reputation for bringing magnificent productions to Boston, year upon year for past 14 years, to thrill audiences, while raising funds to support its many programs for the visually impaired in India.
Funds raised from this year’s event will help to support Vision-Aid’s innovative programs at over 22 centers in 12 towns and cities across India including Vision-Aid centers of Excellence, at Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, the L.V.Prasad Eye Institute in Hyderabad, Shroff Charity Eye Hospital in Delhi and Sankara Nethralaya and Voluntary Health Services in Chennai among others. Vision-Aid also runs enrichment programs for blind children in 16 blind schools across India. These centers offer world-class rehabilitation services at scale, to thousands of visually impaired across India freely or at highly subsidized costs. A special spotlight at this year’s event will be on Smart Vision Glasses, a new AI-powered innovation jointly brought to visually impaired in India by Vision-Aid and SHG Technologies with close collaboration of the Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai.
Priti Chatter is General Partner, NeoNet Capital LLC. She is also the Co-founder, MarvelBiome Inc. Priti is a successful entrepreneur, and as a partner at NeoNet Capital she focuses on companies that translate groundbreaking science into innovative products. Over the years, NeoNet has partnered with incredible entrepreneurs in fields ranging from healthcare analytics to energy efficiency. She co-founded a biotech startup MarvelBiome Inc. in 2019, a microbiome company, identifying microbial therapeutics for neurodegenerative diseases. Prior to Neonet, she was a founding member at technology startups in the telecom and internet spaces. The first startup, Nexabit Networks, was acquired by Lucent Technologies in 1999. Priti holds five patents with additional pending. Priti currently serves on the boards of MarvelBiome and MyHealthMath. She also serves as an advisor to the Museum of Science, Boston. Previously, she has served as trustee for Nashoba Brooks School (Concord, MA), Johns Hopkins University President’s Parent Roundtable, and Georgetown University’s Parent Leadership Council. Priti is always striving to give back to the community. Together with her husband, they have funded two chaired professorships at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute to research and develop ultra-low-cost innovative products to improve the quality of life in rural areas, globally. She earned her M.S. from Boston College and received a graduate certificate from Harvard University.
Mukesh Chatter is General Partner, NeoNet Capital LLC. He is a successful serial entrepreneur with a track record of developing advanced technology products and leading startups from launch to success. Mukesh co-founded Nexabit Networks, a terabit switch/router company, and led the company as CEO until its acquisition by Lucent Technologies. After the acquisition, Mukesh served as the Vice President and General
Manager of IP Products at Lucent. Mukesh also co-manages NeoNet Capital LLC, an investment firm focused on funding out-of-the-box, innovative ideas. Mukesh was named one of the Top 10 Entrepreneurs of the Year by Red Herring Magazine in 1999, and was named Rensselaer Entrepreneur of the Year in 2001. He holds over 23 patents spanning a broad range of technical domains and has several more patent applications pending.
In addition to his current role, Mukesh serves on the board of MarvelBiome, Inc., a developer of innovative therapeutics to address neuro diseases. He is also on the governing board of the Center of Indic Studies at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Mukesh has previously served on Georgetown University’s Parent Advisory Council and the Johns Hopkins University. Parents Round Table. Mukesh and his wife Priti are deeply passionate about developing affordable solutions to global problems. Mukesh received his Master’s degree in Computer and Systems Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York.
Vision-Aid is a Lexington, MA based non-profit, founded in 2004 with a mission of enabling, educating, and empowering the visually impaired to live with independence and dignity. In addition to serving thousands of visually impaired across 22 locations in India, it has gained a reputation for its innovative and high-impact online and specialized programs. Several unique programs help to train the visually impaired to find gainful employment and live with independence and dignity. In addition to the revolutionary AI-powered Smart Vision Glasses being introduced this year, other example of innovation include the newly launched Digital Accessibility Testing and Training center which not only trains the visually impaired but also employs several of them to perform digital accessibility testing for a global client base, and this is just one example of its innovative offerings among a large portfolio which includes over a dozen specially designed training programs to level the playing field for the visually impaired.
The Vision-Aid all volunteer leadership team includes Mr. Lalit Sudan (current President), Mr. Mr. Puran Dang (Chairman Emeritus), Mrs.Veena Handa (Vice Chair) and Mr. Ramakrishna (Ram) Raju (Founder and Executive Director), Revathy Ramakrishna (Co-Founder, VP), Mr. Ram Gupta (Advisory Board Member), Mr. Syed Ali Rizvi (past President) and a stellar constellation of over 30 leaders from the community with expertise in a wide range of areas from Opthalmology and Rehabilitation to Finance and Non-Profit Management.
This year’s Broadway-style mega-show “The Jewel of Justice – the saga of Kannagi” is set to dazzle audiences and raise the bar yet again. It is based on the ancient Tamil legend of Kannagi and highlights many unique aspects of this timeless Indian epic in a rich and vibrant choreography, produced by renowned choreographer Guru Madurai R. Muralidaran and Artistic Directors Jeyanthi Ghatraju, Sripriya Natarajan Moorthy, Marishakthi Muthuswamy and Aishwarya Chakravarthy pulling together the brightest dance talent in the New England area – all of them graciously volunteering their time to support the cause. The dance team and Producer/Artistic Directors have been very hard at work for months preparing to stage a fabulous show with assistance from Shruthi Lakshmi Narayan, Subha Kannath, Kalaimangai Anbalgan, Shilpa Narayanan and Chitanya Gopu. This year’s event will follow a hybrid model and will include a live screening of the show and a Zoom screening for audiences who can watch from the comfort of their home anywhere in US and Canada. English sub-titles and narration will make the show accessible to all.
Welcoming the announcement, Mr. Puran Dang, Chairman, said “I am very happy that my dear friend, Mukesh Chatter and Priti Chatter will be the Chief Guests of our Annual Function. They are the most gentle and compassionate persons. I love and respect them very much.”
Mr. Lalit Sudan, President added “We are delighted to have Mukesh and Priti as our Chief guests and Keynote speakers. They are well known for their innovation, thought leadership, service to the community and humility”.
Vision-Aid Founders, Ramakrishna (Ram) Raju and Revathy Ramakrishna added – “We are truly honored to have the amazing and accomplished power couple, Priti and Mukesh Chatter join us as Chief Guests and Keynote Speakers at our 2022 annual event. On behalf of all the visually impaired persons we are serving in Vision-Aid – we thank them for gracing the 2022 annual event and can’t wait to hear what they have to say!”.
For tickets and sponsorship details visit www.VisionAid.org/event
