In 2020, as an executive HR leader, the devastating Covid-19 pandemic and Black Lives Matter movement had a significant effect on my mental health, physical well-being and social engagement that completely redirected the trajectory of my future. The growing demands of an unprecedented time and changing workforce began to hinder my mental health. Feeling trapped in a vicious cycle of being overworked, anxious, and stressed…burnout was inevitable.  It reflected in my work, attitude, marriage and overall family life. I felt helpless, but knew I was not alone. To my knowledge, there was no roadmap available to help navigate these emotions and make meaningful steps to improve my health and regain quality of life. Too afraid to say anything for fear of judgement, I lived with critical burnout in silence for 3 years. Truth be told, I didn’t even recognize myself.

So in 2023, when my corporate role was eliminated, it was bitter sweet. Over time, I began to accept this defining moment as a precious gift from the universe. I knew my calling was to inspire real change for leadership culture all over the world. Embracing my entrepreneurial spirit, I founded Culture Bonds, LLC consulting small to medium sized organizations to build healthy team cultures that can scale and thrive from the inside out.

Foundationally, I believe that extraordinary leaders are fostered and grown from within the organization. In her experience, great leaders can become ineffective in a toxic work culture and bad leaders are tolerated at a cost. Therefore, turnover, burnout and performance challenges are the symptoms to a deeper-rooted disorder of an unstable culture.  

From this work, her second venture emerged: TSB Speaks, LLC - a platform dedicated to empowering and elevating women leaders through keynote speaking and leadership coaching. Tonja stepped into speaking because she understood something essential: women are leading at unprecedented levels, but many are doing so while exhausted, undervalued and unsupported. Her voice, experience and lived truth could help change that for other women.

Today, Tonja speaks and coaches with one core mission: to help female leaders break through burnout and regain personal power by designing a life centered on well-being, evolving purpose, and revitalized leadership legacy. She believes that when a woman is restored, her impact transforms not only her team or organization—but generations.

In addition to her consulting and speaking work, Tonja serves on the advisory board of Hypno Loops, the first meditation app that allows users to record, personalize, and share meditations paired with high-definition soundscapes. Her continued dedication to human-centered leadership, mental well-being, and personal empowerment reflects her unwavering belief: when women rise in their full power, the future of leadership rises with them.