{"id":2114,"date":"2026-07-02T16:24:36","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:24:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/?p=2114"},"modified":"2026-07-02T16:24:36","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T15:24:36","slug":"alumni-making-a-difference-sonya-chowdhury-bsc-sociology-social-work-1998","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/2026\/07\/02\/alumni-making-a-difference-sonya-chowdhury-bsc-sociology-social-work-1998\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumni making a difference: Sonya Chowdhury (BSc Sociology & Social Work 1998)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sonya has spent over two decades in the third sector, from frontline child protection to national policy.\u00a0She's\u00a0now\u00a0the Chief Executive Officer of Action for ME<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 a charity that is especially close to her heart.\u00a0\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Why did you choose to study at Bath?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At the time, Bath was one of the few universities offering the course I wanted. It also accepted students under 21, which was important for me, and it had\u00a0a strong reputation\u00a0in my field.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It was close to my family, especially my younger siblings, and meant I could continue to work at my dad's restaurant and support him.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Did you have a particular career in mind when you chose your course?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I was\u00a0very clear\u00a0that I wanted to work in the\u00a0third\u00a0sector, tackling injustice.\u00a0I've\u00a0always been passionate about child protection, and that really shaped my choices.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Can you tell us about your experience of studying here?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

My university experience was\u00a0probably quite\u00a0different to many others. I\u00a0didn't\u00a0live on campus and juggled several jobs to fund living independently, which meant I\u00a0missed out on\u00a0quite a lot of the typical\u00a0university life. I was also one of the youngest on my course, with many mature students who had families and other commitments, so I tended to come in for lectures and then head off again.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Things really changed when I joined the badminton team.\u00a0That's\u00a0when I started to build friendships and feel part of a wider community.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Campus was smaller then. The\u00a0social\u00a0sciences block in 3 East\u00a0wasn't\u00a0the most inspiring space, so whenever we could,\u00a0we'd\u00a0work together down by the lake.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It's\u00a0been amazing to see how much the university has evolved since then. The newer buildings and the Sports Training Village have completely transformed the feel of the campus into somewhere far more vibrant.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Describe your career journey since graduating.<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I left Bath not only with my BSc and Social Work Diploma, but also a young baby, which was\u00a0not quite expected! My eldest son, Josh, who is now 28, was born just after I sat my finals and just before I started my final placement.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I qualified, I joined Bath &\u00a0North East\u00a0Somerset's\u00a0(B&NES)\u00a0Looked After Team, working with children and young people in long-term fostering and adoption. After a few months, my husband,\u00a0Josh\u00a0and I went travelling to Australia,\u00a0New Zealand\u00a0and Hong Kong. It\u00a0wasn't\u00a0quite the gap year\u00a0I'd\u00a0imagined, but it was still an adventure, especially with a nine-month-old baby!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When I got back, I rejoined the team and, over the next few years, took on a range of opportunities alongside frontline social work, including specialist drugs work and trustee roles with local charities. I then moved to Off\u00a0The\u00a0Record B&NES, first as Advocacy Service Manager and later Operations Manager.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Along the way, I became Chair of a national organisation for children's rights officers and advocates, which gave me the opportunity to get involved in national policy work. I was then encouraged to apply for an Assistant Director role with Barnardo's\u00a0South West. It was a daunting move\u00a0\u2013\u00a0especially as I was much younger than\u00a0those\u00a0I was line managing\u00a0\u2013\u00a0but one that\u00a0shaped me as a leader. I later moved into a national role, combining business support with leading a government-funded partnership to strengthen the voluntary sector.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00a0knew\u00a0very little\u00a0about ME\u00a0when I saw my current role being advertised. I\u00a0almost\u00a0didn't\u00a0go to the interview\u00a0as it clashed with a programme I was delivering, but\u00a0I'm\u00a0so thankful I did. I came away\u00a0desperate for the job while also\u00a0realising how little I knew about the condition and the stigma and inequity experienced by people living with ME.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

A year after I joined, my youngest son developed ME following a chest infection, making the work even more personal.\u00a0Fourteen years since joining,\u00a0I'm\u00a0more passionate about\u00a0the organisation\u00a0than ever and proud of the\u00a0real and palpable change\u00a0we're\u00a0making.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Alongside my role,\u00a0I'm\u00a0Chair of the Future Ambitions Board for Bath &\u00a0North East\u00a0Somerset, which has given me the chance to contribute to the place where I was born and brought up, working with some incredible people across different sectors, like Vice-Chancellor Professor Phil Taylor and the University.\u00a0I'm\u00a0also a Leadership Fellow with St George's House at Windsor Castle, where\u00a0I've\u00a0met some brilliant people who have challenged and inspired me in so many ways.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a typical day like in your current role?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In my Chief Executive role, I have many meetings, internally with my leadership team or CEO coffee\u00a0catchups\u00a0with individual colleagues, and externally from Chairing the World ME Alliance, or one of research partnerships like\u00a0DecodeME\u00a0or Sequence ME & Long Covid to a meeting with a parliamentarian or a donor.\u00a0I'm\u00a0often in London meeting donors or parliamentarians\u00a0and battling with delayed trains, but I\u00a0wouldn't\u00a0have it any other way!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What do you enjoy most about your career?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I feel\u00a0very lucky\u00a0to have had jobs that I have felt\u00a0very passionate\u00a0about. I have met the most amazing people throughout my career.\u00a0Children and parents who have inspired me with their resilience\u00a0and\u00a0colleagues, bosses and teachers who have shared their wisdom and helped mould who I am. And of course,\u00a0the community I work with whose lived experience shapes what we do, organisationally, and what I do, personally.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Has anything surprised you along the way?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I am always blown away by how much more can be achieved when we work together. So many problems seem\u00a0insurmountable,\u00a0but collaboration can make the impossible seem possible and I get to see that in action on a regular basis.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think\u00a0what\u00a0really surprises me is when people\u00a0don't\u00a0work collaboratively and allow their egos or self-focus to get in the way. Luckily,\u00a0that's\u00a0a lot less common than it used to be!<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

If you could go back in time to when you were a Bath student, how would you spend 24 hours?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I think\u00a0I'd\u00a0want to party! Having not had the 'uni\u00a0life' in the way many others do, I think I would like to experience it for 24 hours.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

What advice would you give to prospective students thinking about studying your course at Bath?<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Keep your options open and be proactive.\u00a0Don't\u00a0wait for opportunities to come to you,\u00a0go\u00a0out\u00a0and create them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Take on volunteering, trustee roles, or any chance to gain insight into different careers. Talk to people, ask questions, and learn from their experiences. Get involved in hobbies and activities. They build valuable transferable skills.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Read,\u00a0research\u00a0and\u00a0explore. Whatever you can fit in. Every experience adds something, and it will all help when you take your next steps.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sonya has spent over two decades in the third sector, from frontline child protection to national policy.\u00a0She's\u00a0now\u00a0the Chief Executive Officer of Action for ME\u00a0\u2013 a charity that is especially close to her heart.\u00a0\u00a0 Why did you choose to study at...<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2002,"featured_media":2117,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[186,124,119],"tags":[5,172,204,183,205],"class_list":["post-2114","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni-news-and-updates","category-humanities-social-sciences","category-parade-profiles","tag-alumni","tag-ceo","tag-social-work","tag-sociology","tag-third-sector"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/48\/2026\/07\/Sonya.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2002"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2114"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2114\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2117"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2114"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2114"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.bath.ac.uk\/on-parade\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2114"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}