Dr. Shabana Parvez, MD, FACEP, US Bureau Chief of The Desi Buzz and founder of ArlingtonIntegrative.com, sat down for an exclusive and insightful conversation with Sanjyot P. Dunung. Born in India and made in America, Sanjyot is a proven, innovative, award-winning entrepreneur and EdTech small business founder dedicated to expanding learning opportunities for all. She serves on the Board of Directors for the National Small Business Association, the largest nonpartisan national business advocacy organization. Her global expertise has led her to advocate for small businesses to increase exports and champion America as the partner of choice for countries around the world.
Her commitment to service extends to the Board of Directors for the Truman Center for National Policy and the American Leadership Project. She grew up in Des Plaines, IL, where she learned the values of community, citizenship, service, and deep pride in the promise that is America. Sanjyot is a proud mom of three sons and part of a patriotic military family. She is now running for Congress, representing the 8th congressional district in IL.
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Background & Personal Journey
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You often say your life was “Made in America.” Can you share how your childhood experiences shaped your outlook on work, service, and leadership?
Sanjyot Dunung: My childhood in Des Plaines, Illinois, was the foundation for everything. It’s where I learned the core American values of community, citizenship, and service. My parents, while being very academic and philosophical, instilled in me a deep pride in the promise of America—the idea that with hard work and dedication, you can achieve anything. Our dinner table conversations were less about gossip and more about ideas and the world, which taught me to think critically and care about the common good. That environment shaped my outlook: work is about creating value, service is our responsibility to that community, and leadership is about rolling up your sleeves to solve problems for the common good.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: As someone who came to the U.S. at the age of six, what cultural adjustments most influenced your personal and professional journey?
Sanjyot Dunung: The biggest adjustment was navigating the space between the collectivist mindset of my Indian heritage and the highly individualistic society of America. At home, the focus was on family, the greater good, and a certain form of respect for hierarchy. In America, I was encouraged to be independent, to voice my opinion, and to champion my own ideas. This duality became my greatest professional asset. It’s the reason I founded a company focused on cross-cultural understanding and why I can so effectively build bridges—I’ve been doing it my entire life.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You’ve balanced being a single mom, a business leader, and a caregiver. What lessons from these life experiences guide your leadership style today?
Sanjyot Dunung: These roles taught me resilience, tenacity, and the profound importance of grounding yourself. When you’re juggling the needs of children, a business during economic downturns, and caring for family, you learn very quickly that you cannot control everything. You have to be adaptable. I meditate and run to stay centered, which keeps me from getting too high with the wins or too low with the challenges. This translates directly to my leadership: I’m a workhorse, not a showhorse. I focus on pragmatic problem-solving, I don’t give up easily, and I lead with empathy because I understand the complex challenges people are managing in their own lives.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: Who were your biggest inspirations growing up, and how do they continue to influence your path?
Sanjyot Dunung: My parents were my biggest inspirations. My father, in particular, was a constant tutor in life. He taught me to stay humble and curious, to always be a lifelong learner, and that our job is to make incremental progress on big problems, even if they outlast us. He had a “joke of the day” to teach me not to take life too seriously—a lesson my three sons have enthusiastically reinforced! That blend of intellectual seriousness and lightheartedness, of perseverance and humility, is the thread that runs through my career as an entrepreneur, an author, and now a candidate for Congress.
Business & Innovation
Dr. Shabana Parvez: Atma Global has been recognized by Fast Company as one of the Most Innovative Companies. What’s the vision behind Atma Global and Atma Insights?
Sanjyot Dunung: The vision is to build bridges of understanding in a complex world. We use a proven methodology, rooted in cultural anthropology like Hofstede’s frameworks, to help people and organizations understand the “why” behind cultural behaviors. It’s not about right or wrong; it’s about comparative understanding. For example, why might a team member from Japan be hesitant to share an opinion in a meeting, while someone from the U.S. is the first to speak up? Understanding it’s a difference between collectivist and individualistic societies leads to more effective communication and management. We bring this insight to corporate teams and higher education, ensuring the next generation of leaders is equipped for a globalized world.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: As a serial entrepreneur, what has been the biggest challenge you’ve faced in building businesses through different economic cycles?
Sanjyot Dunung:I’ve navigated the Asian currency crisis, the dot-com boom and bust, 9/11, the 2008 recession, and COVID. The constant challenge is uncertainty, but a specific, persistent challenge has been the gendered dynamics of funding. When I ran a VC-backed venture, I saw firsthand that the vast majority of venture capital goes to male entrepreneurs. This isn’t about merit; it’s about networks. People invest in who they understand and connect with. We still need to address this by helping women build broader, cross-industry networks to level the playing field. The key to survival through all cycles, however, has been tenacity and adaptability.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You’ve authored 17 international business books. How does writing shape your perspective as both a thought leader and an entrepreneur?
Sanjyot Dunung: Writing is how I process the world. I’ve been journaling since I was eight years old. Structuring my thoughts into books, whether methodical textbooks or a mission-driven young adult novel like Maddie and Sayara, forces clarity and depth. My textbooks, like International Business now in its 15th year, require me to constantly synthesize a changing global context, which directly informs the strategic advice I give through my company. Writing is the engine of my thought leadership—it’s where I turn experience and research into actionable knowledge for others.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: With the rise of AI and digital platforms, how do you see the future of EdTech and global learning evolving in the next decade?
Sanjyot Dunung: AI is a powerful tool, but we must be proactive with guardrails. We saw the “whoops” with social media’s impact on mental health; we can’t afford that with AI in education. We must ensure it actually promotes learning and critical thinking, not just outsourcing answers to a chatbot. Furthermore, learning styles are culturally rooted. EdTech must balance the independent, innovative thinking encouraged in the West with the group-oriented norms of many other cultures. The future is about leveraging technology to make learning more accessible and adaptive, while fiercely protecting the development of human reasoning and analytical skills.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What advice would you give to small business owners navigating today’s uncertain global economy?
Sanjyot Dunung: My number one piece of advice is to advocate for stable, common-sense policy. The biggest pain point I hear from the National Small Business Association isn’t any single policy, but the chaos and uncertainty. When tariffs and regulations change overnight, you can’t plan, you can’t price, and you can’t hire. This uncertainty stifles investment and growth. Focus on what you can control—your operations, your team, your customers—and raise your voice to demand a more predictable and responsible policy environment from Washington.
Political & Social Impact
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You’ve been actively involved in shaping policies for small businesses. What are the most urgent changes needed in U.S. small business regulations?
Sanjyot Dunung: We need to harmonize and streamline for efficiency. For example, differing zoning and building codes from one town to the next make it needlessly expensive to build housing. We need consistent, common-sense privacy rules that work across state and national borders. And most urgently, we need comprehensive immigration reform. Small businesses need a reliable workforce—we need faster legal pathways for skilled and unskilled labor, and we must oppose punitive, discriminatory fees that small businesses simply cannot afford. We need a system that is both humane, secure, and efficient.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: As someone who served on President Biden’s Foreign Policy Working Group, how do you see international trade policies impacting America’s small businesses?
Sanjyot Dunung: The impact is direct: uncertainty kills opportunity. When a small manufacturer or farmer doesn’t know if the tariff on their goods will change arbitrarily, they cannot grow. While global trade needs modernization for the digital age, we must remember that over the last 80 years, it has lifted living standards exponentially, both here and abroad. The goal isn’t to roll it back, but to improve it—making it fairer, reducing uncertainty, and using forums like the WTO to create consistent rules for technology and trade that protect both consumers and companies.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You’ve served on boards like UNICEF USA and the Truman Center for National Policy. How has this shaped your approach to leadership and policymaking?
Sanjyot Dunung: These roles have cemented my commitment to data-driven, science-based solutions for the common good. At UNICEF, the focus on immunizations, clean water, and early childhood development showed me that investing in a child’s first five years pays dividends for a lifetime, for entire societies. This experience, combined with the strategic, long-term vision required at the Truman Center, has given me an approach focused on incremental progress. We may not solve every problem, but our job is to move the ball forward and hand a better baton to the next generation.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What does commonsense problem-solving in government look like to you, and how do you plan to bring that mindset to Congress?
Sanjyot Dunung: It looks like being a workhorse. We have solvable problems—like immigration and education reform—that have been languishing for decades due to political egos and apathy. Common sense is rolling up our sleeves, ditching the ideology, and focusing on what works. In education, that means using evidence-based curricula to ensure every child can read by the fourth grade—because until fourth grade you learn to read, and after that, you read to learn. In immigration, it means passing comprehensive reform that is both humane and secure. I’m not going to Washington to be a celebrity; I’m going to deliver results for Illinois families.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: How do you balance your identity as an entrepreneur, social scientist, and now political leader when addressing issues that impact communities?
Sanjyot Dunung: I see this not as a balance, but as a convergence. This is my “meet the moment” period where all these experiences are essential. As a social scientist, I understand the societal impacts of business, tech, and global affairs. As an entrepreneur, I have a “can-do,” innovative mindset—I see a problem and ask “how can we solve it?” not “why can’t we do it.” We have too many lawyers in Congress who are trained to prevent risk; we need more innovators who are trained to create solutions. My combined identity is my strength in tackling the disruptive challenges we face.
Fun & Personal
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You started your first business at the age of ten, babysitting toddlers. If you weren’t in business and politics today, what career would you have chosen?
Sanjyot Dunung: An astronaut or an explorer! I have always been fascinated with discovering new frontiers. I love uncovering new things, and the idea of space exploration is the ultimate expression of that. William Shatner going to space at 90? That’s a dream. The curiosity and drive to explore are the same forces that fueled my entrepreneurial ventures.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What’s one cultural tradition—from either India or America—that you hold most dear and practice with your family?
Sanjyot Dunung: A beautiful blend of both: Saturday night pizza and board game nights. My mother baked homemade pizza with a slight Indian twist to the sauce, and we’d play Monopoly or Life. I’ve continued that tradition with my three sons, adding games like Sorry and Trouble. It’s rooted in the universal value both cultures cherish: family. Food and the spirit of camaraderie transcend every language and culture, and that’s a tradition I hold most dear.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: As a mother of three sons, what’s the funniest or most unexpected lesson they’ve taught you?
Sanjyot Dunung: They’ve taught me to lighten up and be silly! As an only child from a very “bookish” and serious family, I wasn’t naturally a prankster. My boys are mischievous jokesters, always pulling pranks on each other and on me. They’ve given me the gift of laughter and shown me that it’s okay—even vital—to kick up my heels and not take life so seriously all the time. It’s been a wonderfully liberating lesson.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: You’re deeply passionate about global cultures. If you could live in one other country for a year, which would you choose and why?
Sanjyot Dunung: This is a tough one! I’m drawn to ancient cultures and breathtaking natural beauty, like you’d find in southern New Zealand. But if I’m allowed to cheat, I’d choose to live on a boat for a year to explore many coastlines. My ultimate bucket list destination is Antarctica. The majesty of nature, particularly the ocean, calls to me. So, a well-equipped boat, a few good friends, and the open sea would be my ideal year abroad.
Concluding & Forward-Looking
Dr. Shabana Parvez: What message do you want to send to young women and immigrant entrepreneurs who aspire to lead in business and politics?
Sanjyot Dunung: Believe in yourself, but don’t feel you need to have your entire path plotted out. Life is full of unexpected twists. Stay humble, stay curious, and be a lifelong learner. Talk to everyone, especially those you disagree with. Avoid rigidity in your thinking; the moment you think you have it all figured out is the moment you stop growing. Your diverse experiences are your superpower. Don’t over-plot your career; be open to the twists and engage broadly.
Dr. Shabana Parvez: Finally, if you could summarize your campaign and life mission in one sentence for the people of Illinois’ 8th District, what would it be?
Sanjyot Dunung: My mission has always been to make the world a better place for everyone by building bridges on our shared values with responsible, common-sense innovation.
The Desi Buzz thanks Sanjyot Dunung for sharing her inspiring journey and invaluable insights with our audience. We look forward to following her continued impact in business, policy, and public service.
