Meet the Team in Kolkata
We have a dedicated team in Kolkata, working to improve the lives of animals and communities.
Nafiza Khatun
India Lead & Trustee APA Kolkata
A graduate of Jogesh Chandra Chowdhury College with a Bachelors Degree in accounting. She has seven years experience working in the NGO sector in India and manages operations and local partnerships for Animal People Alliance Kolkata.
B.V.Sc. (Bangalore) MVSc ( gynecology and obstetrics) PGD_Ortho( Tanuvas madras) from Bangalore Veterinary College. A passionate animal lover with 10 years specialty veterinary experience, Dr Raj consults on all cases and assists with training field staff.
Dr Rohit Raj
Chief Veterinarian
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Tusar Sarkar
Field Director and Senior Paravet
A lifelong animal lover with 25 years experience managing animal shelters and street treatment projects. Certified as a paravet and animal welfare officer from the National Institute of Animal Welfare, Tusar directs all of APA's field operations and training.
Doni Gurung
Paravet Trainee
Doni is a passionate and lifelong animal advocate from Jalpaiguri. She has always wanted a job working with animals and aspires to be a certified paravet in the future.
Archana has been a dedicated and passionate team member for over a year. She loves animals and wants to dedicate her life to helping care for them. Her commitment and hard work could one day lead to a paravet certification.
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Putu
Animal Handler
Putu is a lifelong animal lover with a strong work ethic and a comforting and compassionate approach to working with animals. The animals instinctively trust her which helps to make the treatments less stressful and more manageable.
Archana
Animal Handler
Sanjay is a very enthusiastic and energetic employee who loves working with animals. He has a great way of putting the animals at ease as they can sense is genuine affection and compassion for their wellbeing.He has a bright future with APA!
Robin is the newest member of our Kolkata team and he has already proven himself to be a very hard worker who takes his role very seriously. He's a fast learner and we're sure he will achieve great success on our team!
Priya
Animal Handler
Priya is a very hard worker and fast learner and has a bright future with APA Kolkata. Her strong work ethic makes her a valuable member of the team and helps her make a huge difference in the lives of the animals.
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Sanjay
Animal Handler
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Robin
Animal Handler
Meet The Team In Thailand
We are growing our team through a vibrant partnership with Chiang Rai, Thailand based NGO,
The Chance Foundation
Jeed is Director of The Chance Foundation and is sponsored by APA. She has over 20 years' experience working with NGO's and tribal communities in the Northern Thailand region and manages the partnership between The Chance Foundation and Animal People Alliance.
Ankana is 31 years old and a member of the Akha tribe. She has a 5 year old daughter who also loves animals and sometimes comes to the shelter to play with some of the residents. She enjoys embroidery and is an avid gardener. After volunteering with our team for a few months, and doing a great job, she decided to join us full time, thanks to sponsorship from Windhorse Ceramics, a local Thai business.
Yuey
Animal Handler
Sponsored APA Employee
Meet Animal People Alliance
Sujittra Jeed
Chance Foundation Director
Sponsored APA Liaison
Ankana
Shelter Assistant
Sponsored APA Employee
Yuey is our newest team member in Chiang Rai, Thailand. She's 27 years old and a member of the local Akha Tribe. She started working for us about two months ago, on a trial basis, and has done an excellent job! She is now a permanent staff member and we are very excited to have her on the team. She's hard working and has a great energy with the animals.
Supporting the work of our teams in Kolkata and Chiang Rai
Our Trustees
Mark Harvey
Treasurer, Managing Director and Board Chair
Mark has over 30 years of experience within financial banking, mutual and public sector in various senior management roles. A lifelong animal lover and advocate of civil rights, Mark volunteers his time in the non-profit sector on an voluntary basis.
Nancy Rucks
US Director
Nancy is now retired from New York State government where she worked as an environmentalist developing and implementing land use plans under the state’s Coastal Management Program.
Ben Glenn II
Fundraising & Grants
Ben Glenn II is a fundraising, grantmaking and communications executive as well as a practicing art historian. His 30-year career in the nonprofit sector has been dedicated to the visual and performing arts and animal welfare, including working directly with the late Doris Day and the Doris Day Animal Foundation.
Chandra Sengupta
Trustee - APA Kolkata
Suchismita Ghosh Pal
Trustee - APA Kolkata
Suchismita, one of the trustee of Animal People Alliance Kolkata (APAK), is a Chartered Accountant & Social Auditor by profession and a social activist by passion. She is associated with APAK since its inception. Her strong acumen in finance, strategy, compliance & social networking helps in keeping APAK's Indian journey on the right track to growth. She takes keen interest in women empowerment and vulnerable children's education & development too.
Chandra Sen Gupta, a Master Degree holder in Commerce from Calcutta University. After her various stints with private sector organisations in Accounts & Finance vertical, she finally decided to join social sector in the year 2013. With her decade-long experience in social sector in key positions related to operations & finance, she introduces a new dimension to the social sector service. She is a Founding Trustee of Animal People Alliance, Kolkata (APAK) and a lifelong defender of animal rights and animal welfare.
Dame Carmen Callil
(1938-2022)
Trustee
In Loving Memory
Founders
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Dame Carmen Callil, DBE, was a lifelong animal rights advocate, Australian publisher, writer, and critic who spent most of her legendary career in the United Kingdom living in London. She founded Virago Press in 1973 and received the Benson Medal from the Royal Society of Literature in 2017. We will miss her dearly.
Belinda Carlisle
Co-Founder and Ambassador
International Recording Artist
Lead singer and founding member of the legendary all-female band The Go-Go's and an internationally successful solo artist, Belinda is a lifelong animal lover and advocate. She has supported multiple animal welfare organizations and has an immense love and admiration for India. Belinda is committed to spending the rest of her life addressing animal welfare issues in Asia.
Paul Harvey
Co-Founder
Paul has spent the past 14 years living in India and Thailand and working for organizations addressing human trafficking, poverty, women's empowerment, and animal welfare. He had the idea to start APA as a way to address the needs of animals and people simultaneously by offering employment opportunities to people in need that positively impact the stray animal population.