Donna Sherwani

Donna Sherwani is the CEO and Founder of Kind Rebel, a purpose driven consulting firm and brand dedicated to empowering individuals, organisations, corporations, governments, and systems—like education and justice—with the tools to lead with purpose and kindness.

 

She believes that true innovation and disruption must be anchored in humanity. Change, after all, is necessary for progress—but the kind that matters, the kind that lasts, must serve the collective good. That’s where the Kind Rebel comes in: someone who defies with intention, rebels with wisdom, and drives meaningful transformation from the inside out.

 

Donna works with businesses, local councils, nonprofits, ex-lawyers, and corporate leaders to design solutions and leadership pathways that challenge the status quo while building trust, connection, and purpose-led impact.

 

As someone who has lived through war, detention, and profound cultural shifts, Donna brings a deeply personal lens to everything she does. She embodies interculturalism—not just in theory, but in lived experience. Her emotional agility, shaped by her refugee background and professional journey, allows her to create spaces where people feel seen, respected, and free to be themselves. She’s passionate about building environments where authenticity isn’t just welcomed—it’s celebrated.

 

Donna is a qualified lawyer with a background in international and human rights law, having worked in both private firms and leading community legal centres such as Refugee Legal, Liberty Victoria, and West Justice.

 

Internationally, she has contributed to human rights work with Human Asia in South Korea and Global Rights Compliance in the Netherlands, where she co-authored a legal manual for judges of the ICC, based on the Rome Statute.

 

She holds a Master’s from the University of Melbourne and studied peace and security at Korea University. Beyond law and policy, Donna is a leadership and transformational coach, a natural mediator, and a sought-after transformational speaker—bringing energy, clarity, and vision to every stage she steps on.

 

After completing the IYE pre-accelerator program with iGen Foundation, she launched her first business designing “bucket bags,” inspired by her refugee childhood days of collecting water in plastic buckets. That story, like so much of her work, is a powerful symbol of turning pain into purpose.

 

Donna is currently writing her first book on the Kind Rebel methodology—about how to be a modern kind Rebel leader in the era of total disruption. Kind Rebellion isn’t about winning at all costs—it’s about creating space for understanding, transformation, and justice without the harm of adversarial conflict.

 

Expertise: intercultural mediation and conflict resolution; intercultural leadership, program design and training.