Trina Sunday

Trina Sunday Trina Sunday is a human-first leadership strategist empowering HR leaders to become courageous change-makers.

With over 25 years of global experience across HR, OD, and leadership, Trina brings clarity, compassion, and bold insight to the future of work.

What happens when truth becomes optional?It's a question that feels increasingly relevant in our workplaces, our leaders...
31/05/2026

What happens when truth becomes optional?

It's a question that feels increasingly relevant in our workplaces, our leadership and our society.

That's why I'm incredibly excited that Dominic Thurbon, the ultimate PUNC, will be joining us in person at The People Unconference on 2 July.

Fresh from the release of his latest book, To Be Honest, Dom has been exploring a topic that sits at the heart of trust, culture and leadership:

Truth.

Not the comfortable kind.

The kind that challenges assumptions.
Tests our courage.
Exposes the gap between what we say and what we do.

From organisations claiming products can do things they can't.
To leaders avoiding difficult conversations.
To cultures where people no longer feel safe enough to tell the truth.

The consequences are everywhere.

And so is the opportunity.

Because when truth disappears, trust usually follows.

For HR and people leaders, that matters.

A lot.

Dom will be joining us in person to challenge our thinking about truth, transparency and what it takes to create organisations where people can speak honestly, lead authentically and build cultures worthy of trust.

Not another keynote.

A conversation starter.

A provocation.

A challenge to the room.

And honestly, I can't think of a more important conversation for the future of leadership.

If you're looking for another conference full of polished presentations and predictable content, PUNC probably isn't for you.

If you're looking for courageous conversations, fresh thinking and a room full of people willing to wrestle with the questions that matter...

I'd love you to join us.

There are only a handful of Founding Change Maker tickets remaining before the next ticket tier opens.

Come and be part of the room. 🩷

Who looks after the people looking after everyone else?It's a question I don't think we ask often enough in HR.That's wh...
30/05/2026

Who looks after the people looking after everyone else?

It's a question I don't think we ask often enough in HR.

That's why I'm thrilled to be bringing Kelly Swingler into The People Unconference.

If you don't know Kelly, she's known globally as the Burnoutologist and has spent years challenging organisations to rethink the way we approach performance, pressure, wellbeing and sustainable success.

For PUNC, Kelly will be sharing insights created specifically for our room.

Not burnout in general.

Burnout in HR.

The unique pressures faced by People & Culture professionals.

The emotional labour.

The expectations.

The invisible load.

The role HR often plays in supporting burnt-out leaders, managers and employees while quietly running on empty themselves.

And perhaps most importantly...

What role does HR play in challenging the systems, cultures and leadership behaviours that contribute to burnout in the first place?

It's thought-provoking.
It's practical.
And I suspect it will be a little uncomfortable in all the right ways.

Because if we're serious about the future of work, we need to be serious about the future of the people leading that work.

And that includes HR.

If these are the kinds of conversations you wish we had more often in HR, I'd love you to join us.

The People Unconference isn't built around passive content. It's built around the conversations that challenge us, stretch us and help us think differently about the future of our profession.

There are only a handful of Founding Change Maker tickets remaining before the next ticket tier opens.

Come and be part of the room. 🩷

This is not for everyone.(Honestly… that’s the point.)PUNC was never designed to be another room full of passive note-ta...
29/05/2026

This is not for everyone.
(Honestly… that’s the point.)

PUNC was never designed to be another room full of passive note-taking, performative networking, or surface-level leadership conversations.

It’s for the people who are deeply invested in building workplaces that feel more human, more courageous, and more sustainable.

Or want that, but have no idea where to start.

The people balancing complexity every day.
The people holding culture, performance, wellbeing, leadership and change, often all at once.
The people who still believe HR can be influential, strategic and deeply human at the same time.

And maybe most importantly…

It’s for the people who want to contribute, not just consume.

If that sounds like you, I’d genuinely love to see you in the room.

Founding Change Maker places are now live, with the tickets available at our best release pricing. Link in Bio.

2 July 2026 | Adnate Hotel | Perth
The People Unconference (PUNC)

29/05/2026

Have we mistaken professional visibility for genuine connection in HR?

In this episode of Heart at Work, I talk about something I think many HR and people leaders are quietly carrying right now. We’ve never been more professionally connected, yet so many leaders feel emotionally alone doing the work.

We’re surrounded by webinars, leadership forums, LinkedIn conversations, networking events and conference ballrooms. Constantly connected and visible, but visibility and support are not the same thing.

I believe the future of HR won’t be shaped by bigger stages or louder voices. It’ll be shaped by better rooms. Rooms where people can stop performing leadership and experience connection, honesty, contribution and community.

Because this work is heavy sometimes. Supporting people through uncertainty, balancing humanity with commercial pressure, navigating culture, wellbeing and performance all at once. That takes something out of people.

This episode is a conversation about why HR leaders need more than information. We need each other.

Episode released on Monday 🎧 Stay tuned.

PUNC isn’t built around a traditional conference format.Yes, there will be thought leaders and facilitated conversations...
28/05/2026

PUNC isn’t built around a traditional conference format.

Yes, there will be thought leaders and facilitated conversations woven throughout the day. But this was never designed as a passive audience experience built around sitting quietly through back-to-back keynote presentations.

An unconference is built on a different assumption:
That the most important thinking in the room is already in the room.

That the people who show up are not just attendees… they’re contributors.

At PUNC, we’re intentionally creating space for the conversations people leaders have been craving for a long time… the honest ones. The complex ones. The ones that rarely fit neatly into a polished conference agenda.

Table discussions.
Shared challenges.
Real problem-solving with real peers.
Strategic thinking.
Courageous conversation.
Human connection.

This is what contribution over consumption actually looks like.

2 July | Perth
Founding Change Maker tickets are now live.

The People Unconference isn’t a conference.⁣⁣But it’s also not really a workshop.⁣⁣It’s an experience.⁣⁣And yes... I kno...
27/05/2026

The People Unconference isn’t a conference.⁣

But it’s also not really a workshop.⁣

It’s an experience.⁣

And yes... I know there’s a bit of a leap of faith in stepping into something that doesn’t look like every other industry event you’ve attended before.⁣

But honestly?⁣
That leap is often where the magic happens.⁣

That doesn’t mean there’s no structure.⁣
Quite the opposite.⁣

Every part of PUNC has been intentionally designed.⁣

The conversations.⁣
The room dynamics.⁣
The think tanks.⁣
The insights and provocations.⁣
The moments we help community partners.⁣
The moments of connection.⁣
The energy shift across the day itself.⁣

Because immersive experiences don’t happen by accident.⁣

They’re curated.⁣

Most conferences are designed around consuming.⁣
Most workshops are designed around learning.⁣

PUNC is designed around participation.⁣

EXPERIENCE⁣
/ɪkˈspɪəriən(t)s/⁣

An experience is a specific event you encounter, undergo, or live through. It is also the accumulated knowledge, skill, or practical wisdom gained over time through direct participation, observation, or feeling things⁣

That definition feels important to me.⁣

Because some of the biggest shifts in leadership and thinking don’t happen because someone showed us another framework on a slide deck.⁣

They happen because we experienced something differently.⁣

[Laughter guaranteed. Or your money back.]⁣

🩷 Trina⁣

The People Unconference | 2 July 2026 | Adnate Hotel Perth⁣

Some rooms feel different before they even begin.The energy shifts early.The conversations land differently.The people f...
26/05/2026

Some rooms feel different before they even begin.

The energy shifts early.

The conversations land differently.
The people find each other.
The momentum starts building long before everyone else catches on.
That’s what Founding Change Maker tickets are about.

Not just getting in early.
Being part of the early energy.

The first 30 people in this room will help shape what The People Unconference becomes.

And honestly?
That already feels important.

The next ticket tier opens once Founding Change Maker tickets are gone.

So if you’ve been sitting there thinking:
“Maybe I should just do it…”

Get your Nike on.

🩷 Trina

One thing I don’t think we talk about enough?How isolating HR, leadership and consulting roles can actually be.You spend...
25/05/2026

One thing I don’t think we talk about enough?

How isolating HR, leadership and consulting roles can actually be.

You spend so much of your time holding space for everyone else...
supporting leaders...
navigating complexity...
managing emotions...
driving change...
being “the calm one”...

And yet many people working in and around People & Culture quietly feel quite alone in it.

That’s one of the reasons The People Unconference was never designed around speakers alone.

It was designed around the room.
The people sitting beside you.
The conversations between sessions.
The moments where someone says:
“Honestly? I thought I was the only one feeling that.”

The ideas that emerge over coffee.
The unexpected introductions.
The conversations that continue long after the formal program finishes.

Community hasn’t been added in as an afterthought.
It’s been intentionally built into the experience from the very beginning.

Not rushed networking over a 15-minute tea break.
Not awkward business card exchanges.
Not people pretending to “circle back.”

A real room. A curated group. Time to think. Time to talk. Time to connect.

And at the end of the day, we’ll close things out together at our Sundowner at The Adnate.

Bubbles. Canapés. Street art. Gift boxes. Good humans.

Plus a live artwork evolving throughout the day as people literally leave their mark on the future of HR.

The first 30 Founding Change Makers access the best available pricing before the next ticket release opens. And honestly... if you’ve been thinking about stepping into the room, this is probably your sign.

Because HEART Work™ was never meant to happen alone.

🩷Trina

Learn more about The People Unconference | 2 July | Adnate Hotel Perth at trinasunday .com

It’s PUNC. Not PUNK.⁣⁣But honestly?⁣The energy is similar.⁣⁣Punk rejected the idea that you simply had to accept the way...
23/05/2026

It’s PUNC. Not PUNK.⁣

But honestly?⁣
The energy is similar.⁣

Punk rejected the idea that you simply had to accept the way things were.⁣

So do I.⁣

PUNC is The People Unconference.⁣
A curated one-day gathering for HR leaders, culture shapers and people practitioners who are done with passive content and polished conference theatre.⁣

No stage.⁣
No audience.⁣
No 97-slide decks.⁣
No pretending everything is fine.⁣

Just a room full of smart humans willing to have the conversations that usually get left in the car park.⁣

Real connection.⁣
Bold thinking.⁣
Good humans.⁣
A little discomfort.⁣
A lot more truth telling.⁣

And yes...⁣
probably a few ideas that might completely change how you lead.⁣

🩷Trina⁣

The People Unconference in a nutshell.(Which is ironic because it’s intentionally not designed to fit neatly into one.)I...
22/05/2026

The People Unconference in a nutshell.

(Which is ironic because it’s intentionally not designed to fit neatly into one.)

I keep getting asked what this People Unconference is actually all about... which is fair, so I’ll record a video to unpack it properly.

But in the meantime...

PUNC is a unique experience NOT built around AI presentations and polished conference theatre.

It’s designed to spark new thinking, build real connection, improve our sanity and challenge how we think about the HR profession and the impact we can actually have on our organisations and communities.

The reality is, the format is new.
It’s different.
It’s bold.
You’re not a passive attendee sitting quietly in the dark.

It’s an opportunity to get amongst it.
To rip apart what we do and how we do it.
To hear different perspectives that might completely shift your thinking.
You should expect to leave the room different.
Probably thinking:
“Well... that’s not what I expected.”
Your participation will help challenge how we lead and influence people practices.
You’ll help some not-for-profits along the way.
And yes... hopefully improve our sanity.

sanity
/ˈsanɪti/
Sanity is the state of having a healthy, sound, and rational mind. It refers to an individual's ability to think clearly, make logical decisions, and behave in a way that aligns with reality.

Because I want a different reality for those of us working in and around People & Culture.
Send me your questions in the DMs so I can answer them in the video.

🩷 Trina

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Level 1/9 The Esplanade
Perth, WA
6000

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