I’m Vrinda, a researcher and design thinking facilitator who helps people think more deeply, work more intentionally, and build things that actually hold together.
My story
I studied communications and found my way to user research almost by accident, or maybe by design. My professor at school did a good job of piquing my interest, but the real motivation was simpler: research involved reading, writing, and traveling. Three of my favorite things in the world. As a qualitative researcher, I got to indulge in all three.
That led to 12 years of work across ecommerce, mental health, education, and public-sector services. I wore multiple hats along the way: user researcher, program manager, service designer. It wasn’t always planned, but it was always led by curiosity.
Somewhere along the way, I began to notice something. The friction wasn’t in the product. It was in the room. In the conversation that didn’t happen, the assumption nobody questioned was that the team was too close to the problem to see it clearly.
That realization is what shapes how I work today.
What Stayed With Me
Three things stayed with me from that journey, and they quietly run through everything I do now.
People are at the core of what I do. The ability to read the room, regulate yourself, and communicate honestly plays a far more significant role in how we grow than almost any technical skill.
Job titles matter less than we think. No matter what I was called, the thread running through every role was the same: facilitating complex conversations and helping people find clarity amid uncertainty.
And what I learn in one context almost always applies to the next. The cross-pollination of experiences is one of the most underrated advantages in this work.
Where I Stand
I navigate my life between New Delhi and Toronto, rooted in the east, shaped considerably by the west. Living between two worlds makes certain things more visible — the assumptions you carry without realizing it, the patterns that only show up in contrast, and the quiet work of questioning what you once took for granted. Structure and flow. Order and chaos.
Outside of work, I’m a high-altitude hiker, a trail biker, and a trained yoga teacher. The outdoors has long been a constant learning ground. It’s where I’ve learned to stretch beyond what I thought was my limit without losing the fun along the way. I’m also an improv enthusiast, and I’m currently finding ways to bring that practice into my work.
I believe deeply in lived experience, in walking the path yourself before you tell anyone else how to walk it. That’s what I bring to every conversation.
Where Can I Help
All of this, the curiosity, the facilitation, the years of working across different contexts and challenges, has shaped three areas of work that I keep coming back to.
I work with organizations navigating complexity — where teams need to think more clearly, collaborate more effectively, or simply find a better way to work together.
Here is what that looks like in practice.
Cross-Functional Collaboration A public sector organization needed to take a walk-in service online. I mapped how it currently worked, identified where it failed, and designed the full digital journey — giving every stakeholder a shared reference point and a future vision to build toward.
Organizational Culture A product team was shifting from waterfall to agile but couldn’t make it stick. I mapped the gaps, redesigned how the team collaborated at each stage, and built a framework for tracking risks and delivery outcomes. They launched with an MVP and kept improving from there.
Emotionally Intelligent Mindsets I designed and delivered workshops on emotional intelligence for workplace teams — covering self-awareness, assertiveness, and navigating difficult conversations. Built around experiential learning and play, participants left with tools they could put to use immediately.
If any of that sounds like what your team needs, the Work With Me page walks you through how I approach this work and how we can get started.