New members include:
Brenda Battat - Executive Director of the Hearing Loss Association of America, the nation's leading organization representing people with hearing loss. HLAA provides assistance and resources for people with hearing loss and their families to learn how to adjust to living with hearing loss and is working to eradicate the stigma associated with hearing loss and raise public awareness about the need for prevention, treatment, and regular hearing screenings throughout life.
Tom Healy - Writer, poet and chairman of the Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board, which oversees the Fulbright program worldwide. Healy teaches at New York University and is currently a visiting professor at the New School. His book, "What the Right Hand Knows" was a finalist for the 2009 L.A. Times Book Prize and the Lambda Literary Award and his poems and essays have appeared in many literary journals and anthologies. In 2006, Healy received the New York City Arts Award for his work to rebuild the downtown arts community after 9/11. He is a trustee of the Miami Poetry Festival and public arts presenter for Creative Time. 
Bob Isherwood - former Worldwide Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi, the Ideas Agency, where he had responsibility for developing groundbreaking campaigns for such major global companies as Procter & Gamble and Toyota. A recipient of the British Design and Art Direction gold award for advertising, Isherwood has been elected to the Clio Hall of Fame in the US, and the Writers and Art Directors Hall of Fame in Australia.
Sergei Kochkin, Ph.D. - Executive Director, Better Hearing Institute, a not-for-profit corporation that educates the public about the neglected problem of hearing loss and what can be done about it. He is the author of MarkeTrak, a tracking survey of the hearing-impaired population conducted every 3-4 years to 80,000 households utilizing the National Family Opinion Panel.
Helle Østergaard - Executive Director of the Crown Princess Mary Foundation which is dedicated to improving the lives of children, adults and families who, as a result of their environment, heredity, illness or other circumstances, find themselves socially isolated or excluded from society. The foundation has selected "Loneliness" as its newest focus area, an issue that affects all age groups and has significant consequences for adults, teens and young children.
"We are honored that such recognized experts in the fields of healthcare and communications are willing to contribute their time and talents to the Ideas competition," says Ida Institute Managing Director Lise Lotte Bundesen. "We look forward to collaborating with them as we identify world-changing ideas and develop plans to bring them to reality."
The open innovation competition, funded by the Oticon Foundation and facilitated by the Ida Institute, invites individuals and groups to submit original ideas online at www.awarenessforhearingloss.com for awareness projects that have the potential to affect change locally and/or globally, are simple and cost-effective and inspire people to action.
About the Ida Institute
Established in 2007 with a grant from the Oticon Foundation, the Ida Institute is a non-profit independent educational institute located in Copenhagen, Denmark. The Institute seeks to foster a better understanding of the human dynamics associated with hearing loss. By serving as a catalyst for knowledge sharing and the development of innovative and practical tools, the Institute assists hearing care professionals in helping hearing impaired people address the physical, psychological and social challenges of hearing loss. For more information, visit www.idainstitute.com.
