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Introducing Aproteem Choudhury, Our New Program Director of Health
In today’s healthcare and public health systems, leaders are under immense pressure to do more with less—while still caring deeply for others. Burnout, fragmentation, and inequity threaten the well-being of clinicians and communities alike.
At the Compassion Institute, we believe that compassion is not just a virtue—it’s a vital strategy for personal and systemic resilience. That’s why we’re thrilled to welcome Aproteem “Apro” Choudhury, MSW as our new Program Director, Health.
Apro joins us with over a decade of experience guiding individuals and institutions through trauma, burnout, and crisis—toward healing, wholeness, and transformation. As a longtime practitioner of mind-body medicine and a trusted leader in health equity work, he has helped over 45,000 people tap into their own innate capacity for healing.
“I’ve seen again and again that when people reconnect to their inner resources, incredible change becomes possible,” Apro says. “I’m here to help clinicians, public health teams, and entire communities navigate toward that place of deep compassion—within themselves and in their systems.”
Apro previously led the Greater Houston Healing Collaborative, co-created national initiatives like Healing Together with CommonSpirit Health, and helped coordinate the United With Uvalde response following the Robb Elementary School tragedy. His work has bridged institutions like the International Society for Contemplative Research (where he serves as a Board Member), Texas Children’s Hospital, Fort Bend Public Health, and the Mind & Life Institute.
He now brings that heart-centered leadership to CI, where he’ll work closely with our partners to:
- ⦿ Co-create scalable, compassion-based mind-body programs for healthcare workers and systems;
- ⦿ Address burnout and moral injury through simple, evidence-based tools;
- ⦿ Advance health equity through deep listening, local wisdom, and actionable training;
- ⦿ And help more people access their inner strength during times of stress and uncertainty.
In his words:
“Many healthcare leaders and communities feel overwhelmed by burnout and disconnection. I help them access compassion-based mind-body tools so they can heal, lead with clarity, and build systems rooted in resilience and equity.
My role at CI is to walk with others— as a fellow human committed to health. Compassion is the muscle that will carry us forward, together.”
Stay tuned as Apro helps lead the next chapter of CI’s health programming. We’re honored to walk alongside him—and with all of you—as we grow this movement of compassion in action.
Meet the Staff - Aproteem Choudhury, Msw
Aproteem answered some questions with his experience with compassion and more below.
Where did you grow up and how did it impact your interest in compassion?
I grew up in Texas, raised by Bangladeshi immigrant parents who had lived through war, migration, and spiritual seeking. Our home was filled with stories—some heavy with loss, others alive with devotion and laughter. That paradox shaped me. Early on, I learned that suffering and compassion are often neighbors, and that healing is a collective practice. I saw the ways communities can fracture, but also how we mend—through presence, through story, and through love that’s more verb than feeling.
What does compassion mean to you?
Compassion means meeting suffering with presence and intention—without turning away. It’s the willingness to see things as they are and still respond with care, especially when it’s hard. For me, compassion is not soft or sentimental—it’s fiercely tender. It says, “You matter,” not just to the people we serve, but to the systems we’re committed to change.
What drew you to compassion training and working at Compassion Institute?
I had spent years working in trauma care, public health, and mind-body medicine, helping others find their footing after crisis. But I often felt we were trying to repair a broken system without addressing the emotional and root causes of disconnection. The Compassion Institute offered something rare: a pathway that centers compassion not just as an ideal, but as a trainable skill—a culture shift. It gave me language and tools for the kind of transformation I always believed was possible.
What is your biggest "aha" moment with compassion?
That compassion is not just about being kind to others—it starts with the radical act of turning toward yourself with understanding. My “aha” came when I realized I couldn’t sustainably hold space for others unless I could also hold space for my own grief, fatigue, and complexity. Self-compassion isn’t indulgence; it’s fuel.
What about compassion surprised you?
Its precision. I used to think compassion was vague or passive. But compassion is incredibly intelligent—it knows how to respond, not just react. The more I practice it, the more I see how it sharpens awareness, deepens relationships, and aligns action with purpose.
As the Program Director for Health, what transformations have you personally witnessed?
I’ve watched clinicians in burnout rediscover their why. I’ve seen teams who were stuck in moral distress begin to rebuild trust with each other. I’ve sat with public health workers carrying secondary trauma from years of crisis and witnessed the power of a single breath, a shared silence, a moment of real care. These are not small things—they’re systems beginning to heal through human connection.
What is your background related to your work at Compassion Institute?
My background spans neuroscience, clinical social work, and mind-body medicine. I’ve designed large-scale trauma-relief programs for healthcare systems, co-led post-crisis healing in places like Uvalde, TX, and helped train thousands of practitioners in mind-body approaches. I bring to CI both an operational lens and a deep spiritual commitment to transforming how we care for each other—inside institutions and beyond.
What component of CCT™ do you use most in your everyday life?
Tonglen practice, without a doubt. The simple act of breathing in the difficulty and breathing out care has changed how I relate to stress, to conflict, and even to joy. It’s become a steady anchor—especially when the stakes are high or emotions are raw.
How do you think the world could change if everyone had this training in school?
We’d raise a generation fluent in emotional intelligence, grounded in ethics, and courageous enough to care. Conflict would still exist—but we’d have the tools to move through it with dignity. I think we’d remember that belonging isn’t just a human need—it’s a human capacity we can nurture, together.
Given that you are stewarding this work to healthcare professionals in particularly challenging times, what drives you to be of service?
I’ve stood at the edge of burnout and watched brilliant, big-hearted people walk away from their callings because the cost became too high. What drives me is the belief that it doesn’t have to be this way. I want to help restore sustainability to care—not by asking people to do more, but by giving them access to the resources already within them.
What would your friends, family, or co-workers say has changed about you since starting your compassion training journey?
They’d say I listen with more space. That I’ve slowed down—not in action, but in reactivity. That I can hold discomfort without trying to fix it too fast. And maybe that I’m a little kinder to myself, which they’ve been rooting for all along.
Is there anything else you'd like to share with others?
Compassion isn’t something you have to earn—it’s something you already are. All we’re doing is remembering. And when we do, everything begins to change—not just for ourselves, but for the world we’re part of.
Click here to read more compassion blogs and stories.