From Office Intern to Top Dog: Virginia-Raised Woman Named as Head of PETA International

For Immediate Release:
September 10, 2025

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Suffolk-raised Poorva Joshipura, a member of the board of directors of PETA India and author of For a Moment of Taste: How What You Eat Impacts Animals, the Planet, and Your Health—the first-ever in-depth exposé of how animals commonly used for meat, eggs, and dairy are treated in India—is now the first-ever president of PETA International, overseeing its projects and operations in Europe, Asia, and parts of the Middle East. After starting her career at PETA’s headquarters in Norfolk, Virginia, Joshipura has spent over 25 years dedicated to championing animal liberation in countries worldwide through provocative protests, undercover investigations, and strategic work with corporate and government leaders.

Born in the U.S. to parents from Gujarat, India, Joshipura was raised in Suffolk and graduated magna cum laude from Old Dominion University with a degree in psychology. Her journey with PETA began as an intern in its Norfolk office in 1999, and she has worked on the frontlines of animal liberation ever since. Her more public-facing work includes being jailed for disrupting a New York fashion show in protest of Michael Kors’ cruel use of fur (which he later banned); burned in effigy by an angry mob after she helped achieve an Indian Supreme Court ban on the use of bulls for entertainment; and “caged” in Nairobi to highlight the plight of chickens killed in appalling ways for food. Just last month, she was “experimented on” in Delhi to bring attention to the egregious abuse of dogs and monkeys inside an Indian laboratory serving U.S. and Canadian clients.

“Years ago, in a slaughterhouse where I was recording how badly cows are killed for leather, I locked eyes with a frightened calf who was pinned to the ground, aware of his pending death, and at that moment vowed to dedicate my life to animal liberation,” Joshipura says. “For more than 25 years with PETA entities, from undercover investigator to leading international campaigns, I’ve been true to that pledge.”

As president, Joshipura’s priorities include using technology and scientific innovation to eliminate animal exploitation, including replacing elephants chained in Asian temples with mechanical ones, and using animatronic animals to help educate and encourage children’s natural empathy toward animals. She also aims to educate the public about the inextricable link between animal exploitation and pandemics, antibiotic resistance, and the climate catastrophe.

“I’m deeply honored to help shape the global future of animal liberation and put compassion on every map in my new role,” Joshipura says. “I will seek to harness technological solutions for animal protection, apply cultural intelligence to advance liberation, and promote the unshakable truth that how we treat animals defines us.”

Joshipura’s many achievements include convincing Mercedes-Benz to be the first automobile retailer to offer leather-free interiors by special order, stopping a U.S.-based laboratory-animal supplier from setting up a facility in Europe, leading successful efforts to ban testing cosmetics and their ingredients on animals in India, and ending the use of horse-drawn carriages in Petra and Mumbai. She is also the author of Survival at Stake: How Our Treatment of Animals Is Key to Human Existence.

“Poorva has been an unstoppable force in the animal liberation movement,” says PETA Founder Ingrid Newkirk. “Her extraordinary drive and determination are invaluable in extending our vital efforts to help animals everywhere.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat or abuse in any other way”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free vegan starter kits to anyone looking to make the switch. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.