Parnasri Ray Choudhury

Humanitarian & Development Professional | Philanthropist | Sustainability & Animal-Welfare Advocate | Writer | Social Influencer |

Born in a small suburban town in Eastern India and raised across the Himalayan landscapes of Northeast India, including Sikkim and Darjeeling, as well as Nepal, Bhutan and the Tibetan borderlands, Parnasri grew up amid remarkable cultural, ecological and social diversity.

These formative years shaped her enduring connection with communities, nature and animals laid the foundation for a life centred on humanitarian service and responsible living.

Education:- Parnasri has a multidisciplinary academic background spanning life sciences, management, research, disaster preparedness, social psychology and international development.

She holds a B.Sc. (Honours) in Zoology from the University of Calcutta, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Social Welfare and Business Management (IISWBM) and an M.Sc. from Manipal University.

Her additional academic and professional studies include Disaster Preparedness from the University of Pittsburgh; International Organizations Management from the University of Geneva; Understanding Research Methods from the University of London; Social Psychology from Wesleyan University; Social Norms and Social Change through UNICEF; and Social Auditing through Institute of Social Audit, United Kingdom.

She has also undertaken professional training and institutional learning through UN-OCHA, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNDP, DIPECHO, RedR International, and Oxfam.

Humanitarian & Development Career:- Beginning her professional journey in 1st June 1999, Parnasri has accumulated decades of experience across humanitarian response, disaster risk reduction, public health, donor management, capacity building, community development, training, social and behavioural change.

Her professional engagements have involved internationally recognised institutions and programmes associated with UNICEF, UNDP, WHO, the World Bank, Oxfam International, CARE International and Lutheran World Service.

Her work has taken her across North, South, East and West India, including the Andaman & Nicobar Islands, and internationally across Central, South Asia, Southeast Asia and East Africa. Working across diverse cultural and socioeconomic settings strengthened her understanding of the relationship between institutional development frameworks and realities at the grassroots.

Parnasri has herself been featured in journals and has contributed to and co-authored publications, journals and books, including collaborative work with her husband.

Philanthropy & Grassroots Engagement:- Beyond her professional career, Parnasri has supported more than a dozen grassroots non-profit and community-based initiatives working across causes that include the wellbeing of older people, fishing and coastal communities, underprivileged students and women, sustainable livelihoods, environmental stewardship and animal welfare.

Animal Welfare & Compassionate Living:- Parnasri, a devoted dog mother, her immediate furry family includes twin German Shepherds, a Labrador Retriever and a rescued Indian tinny Golden Retriever. She has rescued three more Indies and supported several other community dogs since 2018 in particular.

Her care extends beyond dogs. She has contributed to the wellbeing, sheltering and feeding of goats, sheeps, cows, and endangered birds as well.

Working alongside senior family members for over 16 years, Parnasri volunteered to convert 1.5 acres of abandoned municipality land into a landscape that today supports local birdlife and grazing for hundreds of goats. The restored habitat attracts a variety of birds, including uncommon and ecologically significant species, while providing a valuable green refuge it also protects the water table within the surrounding community.

A Life Connected by Purpose:- Parnasri's journey crosses Eastern and Southern India, the Himalayas, South and Southeast Asia and East Africa, while connecting professional humanitarian work with family, philanthropy, environmental stewardship and animal welfare.

Her scientific education gave her an understanding of life; management taught her systems and institutions; humanitarian work exposed her to resilience and vulnerability; family taught her responsibility; environmental stewardship strengthened her respect for coexistence; and animals deepened her conviction that compassion should never be selective.

For Parnasri, humanitarianism is therefore more than a profession. It is a principle that connects people, families, communities, animals and the environment.

Her journey can perhaps be expressed most simply:- A meaningful life is measured not only by what we achieve for ourselves, but by the people we support, the families we strengthen, the animals we protect, the nature we preserve and the positive difference we leave behind.