Leaders Creating Rukus

What if the most powerful pivot in your life wasn’t about doing more but about finally surrendering and listening? In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus we sit down with Dr. Katie W. Chu, optometrist, author, speaker, and founder of Chu On What Matters, for one of our most heartfelt and transformational conversations yet. For nearly 30 years, Dr. Chu has served four and a half generations of f...

What if the friction in your organization isn’t a people problem but a design problem? In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus as we sit down with organizational efficiency engineer and founder of Belleview Consulting, Belle Walker. Belle takes companies from friction to function, helping leaders rethink how their teams are structured, how work flows, and how strategy actually gets executed. Wit...

What if growing your business didn’t mean chasing every trend, but scaling with intention instead? In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus we sit down with product and marketing strategist Anika Sharma, founder of Crescera Consulting. With over 15 years of experience in product marketing and portfolio strategy, Anika has led high-impact initiatives across education technology, healthcare, and co...

In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus we sit down with California licensed attorney, legal educator, and academic success expert Aparna Agnihotri, J.D. Founder of Academic Advantage JD and creator of LawBubu, Aparna is redefining how law students learn, think, and succeed. Her journey was not easy. Law school and the bar exam pushed her to the brink, testing her confidence, resilience, and sen...

What if building your career meant amplifying who you already are instead of starting over from scratch? In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus we welcome back keynote speaker, entrepreneur, and LinkedIn authority Sheikh C. Ali. A former medical student who pivoted away from a traditional path, Sheikh is now the Founder and CEO of SC Medical Media, where he helps clinicians and healthcare execu...

What if true leadership wasn’t about becoming more—but becoming more of your authentic self? In this episode of Leaders Creating Ruckus, Aashi Arora sits down with Nidhi Kathuria—social entrepreneur, senior executive, and impact-driven leader—for a powerful and deeply human conversation on courage, reinvention, and purpose-led success. With over 20 years of experience across fintech, blockchain, h...

Some career shifts start not with dissatisfaction, but with a deeper awareness of what constant pressure is doing inside. On this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus, we’re joined by Dr. Sahana Sharan, a nervous system–based leadership strategist who helps high-performing leaders expand their internal capacity so they can lead with calm, clarity, and impact in high-pressure environments. A former ph...

This week on Leaders Creating Rukus, we’re joined by Sweta Patel, founder of Sadhna Legal Nurse Consulting. Sweta is an OB-trained nurse with more than 16 years of experience spanning Labor & Delivery, NICU, infusion therapy, infectious disease, medical device integration, and travel nursing. Her work today lives at a rarely seen crossroads. After years at the bedside and in clinical leadershi...

In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus Aashi Arora sits down with Kim Jones, an executive coach, former Divisional CIO, and educator who has spent twenty-five years helping leaders rise to their full potential. Kim’s career began inside Fortune 250 companies, where she moved through finance, risk, operations, and IT before stepping into a senior role at Farmers Insurance Company. Although she s...

This week, Aashi Arora sat down with Dr. Saba Fatima, a pediatric hospitalist, researcher, writer, and creator of Muted in Medicine, for a conversation about identity, grief, belonging, and the hidden emotional labor carried by people in healthcare. From her childhood in Karachi, to medical training in Philadelphia, to caring for hospitalized children in Kansas, Saba’s story offers a close look at...

In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus, Aashi Arora speaks with Rania Chami, a nutrition and life coach whose story reaches from wartime Beirut to coaching rooms in the United States. The episode follows her journey through immigration, motherhood, divorce, and professional reinvention, then shows how these experiences shaped the work she brings to women navigating midlife changes. Rania explai...

What if parenting and leadership were really two sides of the same lesson? In this episode Aashi has an illuminating conversation with parenting expert, positive psychologist, and licensed educational board-certified behavior analyst Reena B. Patel. For more than two decades, Reena has worked with families and children, guiding them through the emotional, academic, and social layers of growth. She...

What if leading your business felt less about tracking numbers and more about building steady, intentional growth? In this episode Aashi Arora sits down with Rush Shah, Chief Financial Officer, founder of Modern CFO Services, and trusted advisor to companies aiming to scale with purpose. With more than twenty years of experience in finance across Providence, Kaiser Permanente, and NAPA Center, Rus...

In this special episode, Aashi sits down with Emily Scott, financial confidant and thought partner, for a candid, full-circle conversation about leadership, legacy, and the values that shaped her path. From a 20+ years executive career to building a thriving coaching practice, she has created a podcast that amplifies voices of innovation and change. For Aashi, leadership has always been rooted in...

What if success didn’t mean doing more—but doing it with meaning? This Sunday at 4 PM PST, tune in to Leaders Creating Rukus as Aashi Arora sits down with Priya Shah—communications strategist, founder, and CEO of ShahSquared® Consulting—for an inspiring conversation on redefining success, storytelling, and self-leadership. With over 15 years of experience leading global communications for enterpri...

What if understanding your nervous system could reshape the way you lead? In this episode, Aashi Arora sits down with Amber Ussin-Davey, MA, LCPC, PCC, an executive coach and therapist with more than two decades of experience helping leaders, teams, and mission-driven women navigate change with clarity and steadiness. Amber combines applied neuroscience, somatic awareness, and mindfulness to teach...

This week on Leaders Creating Rukus, we sit down with multilingual commercial real estate broker Nicole Lu, who shares her fascinating path from world traveler to Los Angeles dealmaker. Nicole has worked in seven languages across Asia, Africa, and Europe, before returning home to California to help international and local clients identify U.S. investment properties. Whether it’s multifamily, retai...

This week, Aashi Arora sat down with Asha Kumar—literary manager, producer, and founder of Door 38 Management & Production—and her husband Anil Punyapu, founder and CEO of UpHealth.ai. Asha’s path stretched from scaling a network of imaging centers in healthcare to building a creative firm that develops films, TV series, and documentaries amplifying underrepresented voices. Anil spent two deca...

In this episode of  Leaders Creating Rukus, I’m sitting down with Ashlee Klevens Hayes, PharmD, MHA—founder of RX Ashlee, three-time author (including Confidently You), keynote speaker, and host of the podcast This Wasn’t My Plan. Ashlee has coached more than 6,000 clients worldwide on interviews, negotiations, and leadership growth, teaching ambitious professionals how to cut through the noise wi...

This week, Aashi Arora sat down with Sapna Abrol—environmental scientist, founder of Alpha Environmental, and lifelong advocate for sustainability—for a powerful dialogue about science, entrepreneurship, and building solutions that serve both people and the planet. From starting a family business with her dad over 20 years ago, to advising state and local governments on climate change and water qu...

In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus we sit down with entrepreneur, investor, and visionary founder Nikki Arora. With over two decades of experience driving transformation across private enterprises and non-profits globally, Nikki is the force behind CerraCap Ventures—a firm dedicated to human-centric innovation and empowering diverse women entrepreneurs. Her path wasn’t conventional. From na...

With 20 years of teaching experience and a Master’s degree in Educational Leadership, Genie has spent her career helping people whose brains work differently thrive—in classrooms, in families, and now in organizations. Through Beyond Coaching and her NeuroAutonomy Method, she equips leaders with practical strategies: clarifying expectations without micromanaging, creating executive-function-friend...

What if understanding your money story could unlock not just financial freedom—but peace of mind? In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus we sit down with Emily Scott—confidential thought partner, author, and financial guide—who has spent decades helping people see how their money story shapes every part of life. Emily’s path has taken her from Wall Street to family office management, philanthro...

What if transforming healthcare—and making medicine more affordable—wasn’t just a policy decision, but a leadership choice? In this episode of Leaders Creating Rukus we sit down with Ritu Malhotra, PharmD—nationally recognized pharmacist, healthcare leader, and founder of NiaVista Group—whose two decades in the pharmacy benefits industry have helped plan sponsors, employers, and health systems ret...

This week, Aashi Arora sat down with Dharshini Mahadevan—healthcare executive, mentor, and trailblazing leader—for a deep dive into connection, candor, and thriving in spaces where you're underestimated. From growing up in a tight-knit immigrant medical community to leading a $120M portfolio at DaVita, Dharshini shares how her journey from dietitian to executive taught her the real currency of lea...