Sonya Rudenstine

Sonya is an executive coach who partners with clients to support them in uncovering their full leadership potential. She is a systems thinker who knows that none of us operates in a bubble. Her approach takes into account the complexities and nuances of the client’s environment—both professional and personal – to support them in constructing and implementing a mission-driven vision of leadership that aligns with their distinct values. 

Sonya’s coaching is deeply influenced by her twenty plus years of experience as an attorney and business owner. She spent her legal career primarily representing defendants on death row and children sentenced to life without parole throughout the American South. As a law professor, mentor, and trainer, she took what she learned in the trenches and applied it to effectuating equitable, systemic change in the criminal justice system. In doing so, she served as counsel in matters before the U.S. Supreme Court and numerous other appellate courts on behalf of institutions such as the American Bar Association, Brennan Center for Justice, Constitution Project, and the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. By working to forge partnerships in the legal community on behalf of her clients and in service of systemic change, Sonya developed a collaborative, creative approach to her leadership that she brings to her work as a coach in both corporate and nonprofit settings.

As an outgrowth of her work for greater equity in the criminal justice system, Sonya is particularly interested in coaching leaders engaged in enhancing diversity, equity, access, and inclusivity (DEAI) in their organizations. She empowers them to explore their own intersecting identities as a mechanism for engaging with their DEAI efforts and creating sustainable, transformative culture change.