From Compliance Burden to Empowered Learning: Sondermind’s People-First Approach with Ethena

In this edition of How We Tackle People Stuff, Ethena’s Chief People Officer, Melanie Naranjo, chats with Sara Marzitelli, Head of People at Sondermind, about how her team moved beyond outdated compliance training to embrace a modern, scalable solution that supports a remote-first workforce and a mission-driven culture.

🧠 Modern Compliance for a Distributed Team
With employees in 30+ states, Sondermind needed a smarter way to deliver training that felt consistent, relevant, and flexible. Ethena made it easy to automate the right assignments to the right people—without Sara’s team having to chase down completions across state lines or job functions.

🎯 Compliance That Actually Resonates
Sondermind replaced stale legalese with Ethena’s dynamic, story-based microlearning. Whether it’s a comic strip on harassment prevention or a timely training before a team offsite, employees appreciated the real-world relevance—and the ability to complete trainings at their own pace, even while cooking dinner.

💡 A Platform That Grows With You
Having implemented Ethena at three different companies, Sara sees it as a go-to solution. From diverse learning formats (read, watch, listen) to an ever-expanding course catalog—think harassment prevention and SOC 2—Ethena supports the evolving needs of growing teams without overwhelming them.

📈 High Engagement, Low Lift
With a 94% completion rate and 97% positivity rating, compliance doesn’t feel like a chore at Sondermind. One email and a gentle Slack reminder are often all it takes—proof that when training is digestible, human, and well-timed, people actually want to engage.

🔧 Implementation Even a Non-Techie Can Handle
Sara jokes she’s not an IT whiz, but even she found the rollout process intuitive. “Upload a CSV, configure a few things, and you’re off,” she says. Minimal lift, strong support, and immediate impact—Ethena makes it easy to ditch the status quo.

🎧 Tune in to hear how Sondermind turned compliance into a seamless part of their people strategy—empowering learning, not checking boxes.

Duration: 17 minutes