Welcome to Dharani USA, Inc. (DUSA), a 501(c)(3) organization set up in the USA as a sister organization to The Institute of Geographical Studies (TIGS), Bangalore, India.
“Dharani” is a Sanskrit word meaning “Earth.”
Since 2000, when DUSA was set up, we have been instrumental in raising funding and other resources for the work that TIGS is doing in India to promote non-formal geography education there. Among the activities of TIGS are:
Interactive geography workshops for K-12 children and teachers through two GeoVidyaa Geography Centers (in Bangalore and Chennai).
Field-trips for K-12 children and teachers.Online non-formal geography lessons for home-schooling and school children.
International Geography Youth Summits (IGYS) — this is an annual event, the flagship event that brings together children, teachers, parents, older students, and anyone interested in geography together in one place for great interactions.
Trustees
Dr Heidi Nast
(Managing Trustee)
(Biographical information forthcoming)
Dr Devesh Radhakrishnan
(Trustee)
I am a Senior Scientist and Upstream Lab Lead in the Manufacturing Science and Technology Department at BioMarin Pharmaceutical Inc. with a PhD in Chemical Engineering (University of Delaware) and MTech (Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay). TIGS’ work promoting geography education in India inspires me. As a DUSA trustee, I help monitor and update the TIGS website and help with the annual International Geography Youth Summit.
Dr Chandra Shekhar Balachandran
(Founder, Trustee)
I am a Bengaluru native. I earned my PhD in Geography at Kent State University, Ohio. After teaching in the US for about 20 years, I returned to India in 2000 and I started TIGS to help deliver more relevant and engaging geography education.
Through TIGS, I have worked to offer non-formal geography education in different formats primarily for school children, and for anyone else interested. (Here is my CV)