Andrea Marwah
Executive Director
Andrea Marwah received her BA degree in Psychology from North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Since her daughter was diagnosed with hearing loss in 2002, she has taken a special interest in educating parents and professionals on matters concerning ADA (Americans With Disabilities Act), IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) - special education rights, and advocacy for students who are deaf or hard of hearing. Andrea presents both locally and nationally on matters pertaining to advocacy and IDEA; deafness/hearing loss when combined with other disabilities; the impact of deafness/hearing loss; and many topics surrounding parenting and working with children who are deaf and hard of hearing. She works for the Illinois Department of Human Services, Illinois School for the Deaf as an outreach trainer, advocate and consultant for families and professionals who work with children who are deaf, hard of hearing, blind, visually impaired, or deaf-blind. Andrea began her Presidency at Illinois Hands & Voices in 2010 and promoted the Executive Director position in 2021, began as the IDEA liaison for the Guide By Your Side Program in 2012 where she provides unbiased information and one-on-one advocacy and IDEA support to families who have children with hearing loss and is a national trainer for the Hands & Voices ASTra Training Program and a member of the Hands & Voices speakers bureau. She works closely with Designated Service Coordinators providing group training and individual consulting. These are trained individuals who work directly with infants and toddlers in Illinois birth to three who have a diagnosis involving vision, hearing or a combination of both in her state early intervention program. Andrea works as a liaison with the Early Intervention Training Program on issues surrounding deafness and hearing loss. She sits on numerous committees both locally and nationally. Andrea also served for six years on the Advisory Commission on Disabilities in her home-town of Naperville, where she lives with her husband Ajay and 3 children Samantha, Julia and Andrew.