Awaaz Reach focuses on making every voice heard. Founded by Sarina Motwani, Awaaz Reach explores how research and innovative approaches can make communication and developmental services more accessible, inclusive, and responsive to the communities they serve.

Sarina is a graduate of Barnard College, where she earned a 4.0 GPA, and is currently pursuing an M.S. in Speech-Language Pathology at Teachers College, Columbia University. She has a deep passion for research, particularly research that can translate into practical, accessible solutions for children and families.

Her commitment to children’s education and development has led her to volunteer in educational settings across the world, including India, Cambodia, and New York. At Pratham, one of India’s largest education NGOs,  she taught phonics to children and devised a digital literacy program for women entering the workforce. During her time at the Association to Benefit Children, she worked with the special education teachers and speech pathologists to help increase the communication abilities of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). These experiences have shaped her interest in understanding how educational and developmental interventions can be adapted to different cultural, linguistic, and socioeconomic settings.

Sarina is particularly passionate about improving ASD and early intervention services in India. She has conducted research on India’s District Early Intervention Centres (DEICs), India’s government centers that are supposed to provide free evaluations and treatments for children with developmental disabilities. Sarina’s research examines DEIC’s role in identifying developmental needs and connecting children and families with appropriate services. Her interests include exploring evidence-based approaches that are not only effective, but also culturally responsive, affordable, and scalable. Her research is one of a kind as it leverages QGIS to visually demonstrate the disparity in access to care for children with disabilities across the states of India.

Fluent in Hindi, Sarina is especially interested in approaches that are culturally responsive, practical, and scalable within the Indian context. Her work reflects a broader commitment to improving access to early intervention and autism services, particularly for families who may otherwise face barriers to receiving timely support.