About Preethi

The Founder Trustee of Soulfree, Ms. Preethi Srinivasan, was a child prodigy. She was amongst the top 2% of American students in 1996, and appeared in the 1995/96 edition of the ‘Who's Who’ amongst American students. She was a state-level swimming champion; was the captain of the Tamil Nadu under 19 Girls Cricket team; was part of the playing 11 of the State Senior Women’s Cricket Team at just the age of 8 and dreamt of representing the nation.

Just as her dream was taking wings, at the age of 18, her carefree and privileged existence changed in a split second when she sustained a spinal cord injury after an inexplicable accident, whilst on a college excursion to Pondicherry. This accident paralysed her below the neck – forcing her to learn to live as a Quadriplegic.

Completely shattered, Preethi and her family struggled to come to terms with the enormity of their loss. Preethi found discrimination and stigma everywhere, to the extent that she was denied access to college education because of lack of wheelchair accessibility and forced to fight for her right to education. Her life was shaken at the roots with her father’s untimely demise and her mother’s heart attack within a few days thereafter. After learning that there are no long-term facilities anywhere in India to care for a person in her condition, her mother motivated her to “be the change.” However, Preethi was scared of the responsibility as she felt she could not even care for herself.

In a span of three months, Preethi learnt that two paraplegic girls she knew were driven to commit suicide by their own families, who deemed them to be a shame, curse, and burden. It was then that Preethi decided to move past her fears and follow the path her mother had shown her. She founded and registered Soulfree as a public charitable trust in 2013.
Preethi holds a Bachelor’s degree in Medical Sociology and a Masters in Psychology. Importantly, given her views on education and empowerment she enrolled for higher studies and eventually was conferred Doctor of Philosophy by the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, IIT Madras.
At the convocation ceremony on July 11, 2025, Dr. Preethi Srinivasan made a significant breakthrough to become the first Indian quadriplegic to obtain a PhD from IIT Madras; reinforcing her perseverance, over the years, to transform millstones into memorable milestones.
Preethi is a member of the Advisory Board for the Welfare of the Differently-Abled in Tamil Nadu, a state-level panel headed by the Honourable Chief Minister, Thiru. MK Stalin. She is a student Representative to the Board of Directors of the Society for Disability Studies since 2021, a prestigious international body and she represented ICA Women’s Cricket in the TNCA Apex Council from 2019-2022.
Ms. Preethi in discussions with Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman the then Defence Minister and Minister of State for Communications Mr. Manoj Sinha on spinal cord injury in 2017-18.
The Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Mr. Edappadi K Palaniswami bestowed the prestigious Kalpana Chawla Award for Courage and Daring Enterprise to Ms. Preethi on August 15, 2017.
PKF Sridhar & Santhanam LLP celebrated 45 years of professional service in 2023-24. On this momentous occasion, the firm honoured Ms. Preethi Srinivasan for groundbreaking work in uplifting society and strengthening the nation.

Shri N. Chandrasekaran, Executive Chairman, Tata Sons graced the event and presented the award to Ms. Preethi. The founding partners Shri. S. Santhanakrishnan and Shri. S. Ramakrishnan are on the dais.

Why should you invite Preethi as a Motivational Speaker

Preethi Srinivasan – A Voice of Resilience & Transformation

Preethi Srinivasan’s extraordinary journey of resilience and triumph transforms audiences, shifting perspectives, and igniting change. An award-winning speaker and a five-time TEDx presenter, she delivers insights that challenge, inspire, and empower. Her words are a beacon of hope, instilling courage, and determination in those facing adversity.

A trailblazer in disability advocacy, Preethi is the first female quadriplegic to represent India at international disability conferences. Pursuing her PhD at IIT Madras in Feminist Disability Studies, she is a leading expert on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and the intersections of disability, gender, and sexuality.

Once a state-level cricketer and swimmer, Preethi’s life changed in an instant due to a spinal cord injury. Rising from unimaginable challenges, she has dedicated her life to empowering India’s most marginalized community. As the founder of Soulfree, she has spent over a decade restoring dignity and independence to individuals with spinal cord injuries. By inviting her to speak, you offer your audience a rare and unforgettable experience while supporting her mission of empowerment and financial independence.

Why Are We in Need of Inspiration?

Every organisation needs happy and healthy individuals for optimizing productivity in the long run. Most employees in every organisation at one point or another undergo the following circumstances.
PROFESSIONAL STRESS PERSONAL STRESS
Choking deadlines and targets Family worries
Hectic lifestyle with no time for healthy eating, rest Lack of quality time with family and friends
Inter-organisational miscommunication and conflict Health issues (BP, insomnia, diabetes, cardiac problems etc)
Financial pressures No time or energy for exercising
Strain of career growth–climbing up the organisational ladder No quality rest (meditation, yoga, reading)
Travel No quality time with children
This vicious circle of stress has led to the following impact on the human mind:
  • A natural tendency of people to become mechanical, unemotional and to lose themselves in the attempt to win the world.
  • A never-ending rat race that keeps people occupied to the extent that they forget their priorities, which should be their families.
  • A feeling of helplessness of being caught in the web of material achievements and the tendency to seek for more wealth, without a purpose.

What Are the Benefits Of an Inspirational Talk?

Preethi Srinivasan's Inspiration provides us with the reality check we all desperately need – she brings us back to the very core of our lives. Through her own example she urges us to recognise and fulfil our true potential!
  • Perspective – Preethi encourages us to look at ourselves from within (introspection and self-analysis) and without (view our lives with respect to the larger picture). Her life exemplifies how a positive perspective can affect one's quality of life!
  • Purpose – Each of us are Divine Beings and each of us have a special purpose in life. She reminds us of how unique and special we are, and of how blessed and gifted our existence really is. Only when we realise our true purpose will we be able to realise our full potential – which is infinite!
  • Passion – Passion is an automatic by-product of the first two P's. When we're purposeful, we're passionate – there's integrity, joy, love in our lives and in our work when we know we are serving a larger purpose. Preethi's life is in itself a testament as all her realisations are experiential and not theoretical.
  • Present Moment Awareness –The human being is seemingly programmed to never be in the present moment – we are always either in the past or in the future. However, self-awareness and introspection can help us develop the practice of Present Moment Awareness because in the present moment there is always bliss – no fear, no sorrow.
  • Peace – When we awaken to that within us that is not momentary, not fleeting, not changeful, we experience the state of peace that is intrinsic and natural in us always. We just need to open ourselves to it!
Can Preethi Guarantee that everybody will get all this – no, there are no guarantees in life! But, most definitely lives will be touched, changed in ways no one thought possible – that’s for sure! Kindly reach out to Preethi (preethi@soulfree.org) to invite her as a motivational speaker. Thanks in advance.

Preethi Srinivasan – Sample Snippets

Preethi Srinivasan Launches YouTube Channel "INSPIRE TV"
Preethi – An Overview
ICC 360* - cricket for change "Preethi Srinivasan" a personality of myriad facets
The Power of Perspectives by Ms. Preethi Srinivasan
Soulfree at Empower – Preethi Srinivasan is the Keynote Speaker
Soulfree INSPIRE Impact Video 10m

SURFING THE TSUNAMI

As long as life is going the way we expect, life is great, but the moment life throws curve balls and takes us outside the comfort zone, the challenges often seem unbearable.

However, in my experience, challenges are the best teachers and if we learn to surf the tsunami life can become blissful and filled with equipoise regardless of external circumstances and perhaps that is the greatest lesson we can learn.

This is the topic of my 5th TEDx talk. Please take the time to #listen and if it positively impacts you, please #share widely with everyone in your network. Thank you so much!

Time is Precious, But Some Thoughts are Worth the While… …listen to this podcast on Resilience, Transformation and Purpose

Click on the link to listen: https://bhogya.online/preethi-srinivasan/