Who We Are

Sonia

Migneault

Owner and founder of Renew by Design.

Professional Coach

I help high-performing professionals stop abandoning themselves for their careers.

We have been told since childhood that our worth is tied to our output. We get the grades, we get the degree, and we build the career—only to find that our job has become our entire identity.

For years, I lived this "hustle culture" to its extreme. I started working at 15 and continued to work 30+ hours per week during my studies. I completed my undergrad at 21, then moved 1,900km from home for law school at 22. I was hired out of law school at 25, and worked in private practice until 2017, when I was hired as in-house legal counsel for a Children's Aid Society—and shortly after, simultaneously took on the same role for an Indigenous Child and Family Services agency. By 31, I was Senior Legal Counsel for both agencies where I was managing legal departments, privacy and records sectors, and sitting on multiple committees while carrying court files involving some of the most severe human experiences imaginable—those that stay with you long after you close the file. I was the designated trainer for all legal, privacy, and records disclosure matters. And, in 2023, I was also hired as a legal trainer for the Ontario Association of Children's Aid Societies.

I was successful on paper, but I was living to work.

I burned out. It wasn't just about being tired; it was a total loss of self. In an under-resourced system, there was no "off". Days, evenings, weekends, vacations—it didn't matter. Before I knew it, the things I loved—like fashion design, sewing, and playing music—felt like chores.

I tried all the "fixes"—therapy, exercise, time management apps, productivity apps, reading countless self-help books, and setting boundaries. I thought I was the problem. So, I asked myself what I loved doing before the hustle, which led me to my creative outlets. I started a band and threw myself into sewing projects. But I realized I was treating creativity the same way I treated work: another thing to achieve. Another box to check. That's when it clicked: Creativity cannot flourish without rest. And rest cannot be something we earn. They're not separate from our work—they have to be woven into it.

I discovered that sustainable wellness isn't a post-work activity. It is a practice of reclaiming three fundamental things in each and every thing we do:

1. Intentional Rest

2. Meaningful Connection

3. Creativity

My Mission

Through my recovery, I found my Ikigai—my reason for being, my true purpose. It wasn't in the courtroom; it was in teaching. For years, I trained lawyers, social workers, and agency staff on navigating complex, high-stakes, high-stress work. Now, I teach professionals how to navigate their own lives with the same clarity and intention. I use my experience in high-pressure leadership and my journey through burnout to coach professionals and businesses to step outside the hustle mentality.

I help people stop "surviving" their careers and start living with purpose. We don’t just work to live; we reclaim our humanity while we work.

Whether you're a professional who's lost yourself in the grind, or you're leading an organization struggling with retention and exhaustion, I'll show you how real change doesn't require adding more to anyone's plate or an organizational overhaul. I've been the person working 60+ hour weeks in an under-resourced system. I know you can't just "do less". But you can do differently. Real change means rediscovering your purpose and reclaiming what's been abandoned—rest, connection, and creativity—and weaving them into everything you do.

Because that's the foundation for self-renewal and designing a life (and a workplace) you truly love.

About Me