senior positions with corporations such as Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan Chase, and
Bank of America. Rao Chalasani’s ongoing charitable commitments include a
longstanding affiliation with the Sankara Eye Foundation, USA.
With origins in India’s Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Medical Centre, the Sankara Eye
Foundation (or SEF) was officially established in 1998 with a vision to
eliminate curable blindness across India by the year 2020. Dubbing this
initiative “Vision 20/20 by the year 2020,” the SEF began by performing 8,000
free eye surgeries the very year of its inception. Working in concert with its
partner, Sankara Eye Care Institutions, the organization has been able to
increase its outreach significantly over the years. In 2011, the Sankara Eye
Foundation provided more than 140,000 eye operations for individuals throughout
the country of India.
The SEF currently accepts charitable contributions
on an international level from its headquarters in Milpitas, California. The
non-profit entity has won an InDiya Shine Award and a FICCI Healthcare
Excellence Award and maintains a four-star rating from Charity Navigator.