BBI Affiliated Researcher, Consultant for Technology and International Programs,
dsamantraja@gmail.comCurriculum Vita (PDF)
Blending backgrounds in Electrical and Computer Engineering (with a focus on Telecommunication) and Rehabilitation Counseling, Samant Raja brings in over nine years of experience promoting the social and economic inclusion of people with disabilities focusing on assistive and accessible technology service delivery, breaking workplace barriers, and technology use for successful employment outcomes. Until recently, Deepti Samant Raja was the Director of International Programs and a senior researcher at the Burton Blatt Institute at Syracuse University.
She is a lead researcher and involved in project management for the Center on Effective Rehabilitation Technology service delivery, a $2.5million, multi-organizational center, that focuses on identifying and analyzing effective models of technology service delivery for successful employment outcomes for persons with disabilities. She is working as a policy researcher for the Office of Disability Employment Policy (ODEP)-funded Accessible Technology Action Center with a focus on offering recommendations for internal policies and external practices that strengthen ODEP’s work in supporting multiple stakeholders to improve the work experiences of persons with disabilities through accessible technologies. She has participated in instrument design, data collection, and data analysis on multiple BBI research projects, including employer case studies funded by the US Department of Labor. She was a key member of the research team investigating the costs and benefits of technology-based workplace accommodations under the Rehabilitation Engineering Research Center (RERC) on Workplace Accommodations as well as the research consortium that undertook employer case studies funded by the US Department of Labor focusing on employer practices and workplace culture that facilitate the inclusion and productive employment of persons with disabilities. She participated on a Department of Veterans Affairs study investigating effective employer practices, policies, and programs for Veteran employees including those with cognitive and intellectual disabilities.
Samant Raja also worked for the Secretariat of the Global Partnership for Disability and Development, where she oversaw capacity building, knowledge creation, and dissemination activities to mainstream disability in development. She coordinated a demonstration project in mainstreaming disability in poverty reduction and other development strategies in Mozambique, and managed a team of consultants working on a study of inclusive disaster management practices in Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the United States.
Samant Raja has published articles and presented on accessible Information and communications technology (ICTs), access to assistive technology, and inclusive employment and effective corporate practices. She serves as an invited member on key international task forces, including the UNICEF Task Force on Assistive Technology and Children with Disabilities, and was as the Co-Chair of the community of practice on Access to Justice for Persons with Disabilities of the World Bank’s Global Forum on Law, Justice and Development in its inaugural year. Samant Raja has a Master of Science in Rehabilitation Counseling, a Master of Science in Electrical Engineering, and a Bachelor’s degree in Telecommunications Engineering.