hello, I’m sunaina

I spent decades pivoting and achieving in my personal and professional life. With 20+ years as a senior executive in brand marketing and customer insights at top global companies, I had the career people dream of—until I realized it was costing me my integrity, my empathy, my self-worth.

Resilience has always been my pattern. At twelve, I moved from Dayton, Ohio to New Delhi and was demoted by a year in a school where I struggled to speak the language. By the end of the year, I was reinstated and rising to the top of my class. Fight for your place, prove yourself, repeat.

At 50, everything I'd worked for flipped and I made my most courageous choice yet: I walked away from it all and into the unknown. Got divorced. Quit my job. Sent my son away to college. Sold my house. Moved to LA. Went to school at Parsons School of Design for a second master's degree, this time in Strategic Design.

When I'm not facilitating transformation, you'll find me hosting Japanese sake tastings, publishing stories for The Leela Collective, or enjoying a stroll with my dog.

Throughout my life, I've pushed against the status quo to live unapologetically as an independent woman. Design Your Next was born from what matters to me most—activating creative confidence in as many women as I possibly can.

As a leader who nurtures leaders, I'm here to help you design the life that's waiting for you.