Vision-Aid, a non-profit organization serving the visually impaired, announced several notable additions to its leadership team for 2025-26.

This year’s 100% volunteer Vision-Aid Leadership team includes its 15-member Board of Directors (BOD), 15-member Board of Advisors (BOA), and 5-member Council of Ambassadors (COA).

The combined team includes an eminently qualified and diverse range of members drawn from a wide variety of fields including Ophthalmology, Optometry, Occupational Therapy, Finance, Technology, Health, Management, Academia, and Law. Notably, 20 of the 35 members in the leadership team are women.

The new team begins its tenure in July 2025 and has as its immediate focus its annual mega-event on July 27th. This year Vision-Aid celebrates its 21st birthday!

The show will also be live-streamed on Zoom. Vision-Aid has a track record of holding popular, sold-out community events with 700+ attending each year for the past 17 years, and this year’s show titled “Shakuntala, the Legend of the Lost Ring”, is set to raise the bar yet again.

This year’s additions to the leadership team include two new members to the Board of Advisors including Dr. Sanjay Arora and Dr. Amy Mehta.

Dr. Sanjay Aurora

Dr. Sanjay Aurora, MD, MPH joins our Board of Advisors (BOA) as a neonatologist in the Boston area. He is on staff at Boston Children’s hospital, Tufts Medical Center and Boston Medical Center. Sanjay holds MD from JIPMER Pondicherry, DCH from Univ of Glasgow, Fellowship in neonatology from Harvard program at Boston Children’s and Masters in Public Health from Harvard School of Public Health.

With over 20 years of experience in health care, community service and nonprofit management, Sanjay has been involved in various non-profits; such as Massachusetts Medical Society (served as president of Essex South District), Indian Medical Association (incoming president). He is also on the boards of other non-profits (Indian community of North Shore, North Shore Cricket club, Triveni Dance Academy).

He is passionate about community service, along with his wife Dr. Natasha Shah, was recognized in 2022 for Robert Wood Rotary’s unsung heroes award. In 2022 both Sanjay and Natasha  were recognized by the Essex media group and given Persons of the year award for their community service.

In his free time, Sanjay enjoys tennis, cricket, golf and volunteering in various community organizations

Dr. Amy Mehta

Dr. Amy Mehta, joined the Board of Advisors a few months back, and is  a board-certified ophthalmologist specializing in the newest advances in glaucoma and cataract surgery. She completed her Glaucoma Fellowship at the Illinois Eye and Ear Infirmary at the University of Illinois, Chicago, and served as Chief Resident during her Ophthalmology Residency at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital Center in New York. Her clinical expertise spans minimally invasive surgical techniques, advanced glaucoma procedures, and complex cataract interventions, supported by her commitment to clinical research and patient-focused care.

Currently practicing in New York City, Dr. Mehta maintains an active global outreach portfolio. Every year, she participates in surgical missions to the Dominican Republic and has volunteered at an underserved community hospital in Jaipur, India. Her longstanding passion for global ophthalmology and dedicated service has driven her to seek additional avenues for helping communities in need—including her recent decision to join Vision-Aid in a leadership capacity.

Dr. Mehta also holds an Adjunct Clinical Professorship at the New York Eye and Ear Infirmary, where she supervises and trains residents and fellows in glaucoma clinics and surgeries. She actively serves on numerous boards and committees, including the American Glaucoma Society’s Patient Engagement Committee and the Executive Board of the New York State Ophthalmological Society, where she is President-Elect for 2026. Her advocacy extends statewide and nationally, including her role as Councilor from New York State to the American Academy of Ophthalmology.

A prolific researcher and speaker, Dr. Mehta has presented at key conferences such as the American Glaucoma Society (AGS), the Association for Research in Vision and Ophthalmology (ARVO), and the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery (ASCRS). Her publications cover a spectrum of cutting-edge ophthalmic topics, featured in journals including JAMA Ophthalmology and the European Journal of Ophthalmology. Fluent in English, Spanish, and Gujarati, Dr. Mehta brings remarkable leadership and a deep passion for service to the Vision-Aid Advisory Board, and we look forward to the vital role she will play in advancing our mission.

Dr. Sarika Gopalakrishnan

Dr. Sarika Gopalakrishnan is an eminent addition to the Visio-Aid Council of Ambassadors:

Dr. Sarika Gopalakrishnan, joins the Vision-Aid Leadership in the Council of Ambassadors (COA) with a rich academic background and impressive portfolio of experience, including a PhD in Optometry from the Elite School of Optometry where she established herself as a leader in her field. Her expertise in low vision rehabilitation is particularly notable, demonstrated through her innovative research and significant contributions to the discipline.

Beginning her professional journey as an optometrist at Sankara Nethralaya hospital in India, she quickly advanced to senior roles. She served as a Senior Optometrist for 15 years and later became the Head of Visual Rehabilitation Services at the hospital. Her commitment to improving low vision care extended beyond clinical practice to encompass teaching and mentoring future optometrists. She spent many years as an Assistant Professor at the Elite School of Optometry, shaping the minds of the next generation in her field.

Dr.  Gopalakrishnan’s work  has  been  recognized internationally through  various  awards  and accolades, scientific publications, and significant contributions to global optometry initiatives. She has been honored with titles such as the ‘Knight of the Blind’ by Lion’s Club International and it is very notable that  she  has  contributed  to  the  ‘Strategies  to  improve  low  vision rehabilitation’ chapter of World Health Organization (WHO) document.

Dr. Gopalakrishnan is also known for her innovative approach to low vision care, incorporating technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality to improve patient outcomes. She has been trained in evaluating the domain of Functional vision assessments and she has selected the Indian Blind Cricket team for World cup according to the World Blind Cricket Council (WBCC) criteria.

She was recognized as the first Indian female to be honored as a ‘Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry’ at the AAO meeting 2014, for completing her clinical candidacy in the field of Low Vision. She is closely associated with policies of Optometry education and she is a member on the board of ‘Indian Entry level Optometry Competency skill Standard’ (IELOCS).

Dr. Sarika Gopalakrishnan serves as a Senior  Advisor  for  many institutions  including  the  Vision  Science  Academy  in  the  United Kingdom. She is a visiting researcher at Anglia Ruskin University, Cambridge, UK. Her current tenure as a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Envision Research Institute, USA, affiliated with University of Montreal, Canada further exemplifies her commitment to optometric research and education. She is an honored member of the Marquis Who’s Who is the America and Worldwide Women’s Association.

Outgoing members

COA members Dr. Vivek Badami and Ms. Sailaja Manda as well as BOA member Dr. Nilesh Sheth and Dr. Bharti Gangwani will be rolling off after completing their stellar terms of service to the cause. The Vision-Aid Leadership team expressed its grateful thanks to them for their invaluable service.

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