Disney leader Sonia Doshi to speak at 2026 UMSI commencement

University of Michigan School of information alumna Sonia Doshi will be the speaker at UMSI’s 2026 spring commencement on April 30. Doshi, a leader in strategy, design and emerging technology at The Walt Disney Company, is a 2016 graduate of UMSI’s Bachelor of Science in Information program. 

Doshi is looking forward to returning to Ann Arbor for the speech and sharing her career journey with graduates. Her career has been shaped by curiosity, adaptability and her willingness to embrace the unknown. 

“It’s one of the greatest honors of my life,” she says. “Michigan has influenced every part of my life over the past 10 years. The opportunities I’ve had, the people I’ve met and the things I’ve gotten to work on.”

After graduating from UMSI, Doshi began her career in education technology startups and earned a master’s degree in learning design and technology from Stanford University. Her work has focused on design and storytelling with an emphasis on solving complex, human-centered problems. 

While at Stanford, Doshi's thesis focused on designing learning experiences to equip young people to become first responders to mental health crises in their peers. She also co-authored a children's book called "Goodnight News," which is designed to foster conversational skills between pre-K children and their parents. 

“My interests have always centered around learning, mental health advocacy, storytelling and design,” she says. “I’ve been really drawn to designing solutions for problems that don’t always exist within traditional systems.”

That interdisciplinary approach began at UMSI, where Doshi was part of the school’s first undergraduate class, and helped found the School of Information Bachelor's Association student group.  

“The degree didn’t even exist when I started college,” she says. “We were shaping it as we went, and that taught me a lot about how to navigate ambiguity that I carried with me into my career.”

Today, Doshi brings that mindset to her work at Disney, where she leads efforts spanning design, strategic operations and emerging technologies. Her role includes guiding work in areas like artificial intelligence and mixed reality, as well as helping teams think through how to adopt new technologies responsibly. One project she helped build for the Apple Vision Pro, in partnership with Marvel Studios and Industrial, Light & Magic, is called "What If...An Immersive Story.”  It earned an Emmy for Outstanding Innovation in Emerging Media Programming.

Across her career, she has often served as a bridge between technical and non-technical teams, translating ideas, connecting disciplines and helping solve complex challenges.

“I’ve always been in that space between worlds,” she says. “It’s about building understanding, asking questions and helping people come together to solve problems.”

At this year’s commencement, Doshi hopes to share a message that reflects the realities of an uncertain and rapidly changing world. 

“Embrace the unknown,” she says. “It’s easy right now to feel overwhelmed or disengaged, but what’s needed most are people who are willing to stay curious, ask questions and think critically.”

Doshi also reminds students that their career paths may not look the way they expect.

“The jobs you’ll have may not even exist yet,” she says. “The more open you are to that, and the more you follow the questions that genuinely interest you, the more possibilities you create.”

Doshi’s work at The Walt Disney Company also keeps her closely connected to storytelling. Among her favorites are movies “Inside Out” and “Up,” which she admires for their emotional depth, as well as series like “Loki” that she saw come to life during her time at the company. Getting to contribute, even in a small way, to stories that resonate with audiences is one of the most meaningful parts of her work.

Outside of her professional work, Doshi finds joy in creative and restorative pursuits. She enjoys hiking with her husband in the Angeles National Forest near their home in Pasadena, as well as playing board games and video games with friends. Recently, she has also returned to piano, taking lessons again after years away. 

At the UMSI graduation, Doshi is eager to celebrate the next generation of graduates and the community they have built together.

“This is such a unique moment in time,” she says. “Take it in, stay open and trust that you’re prepared for what comes next, even if you don’t know exactly what that is yet.”

The 2026 University of Michigan School of Information graduation ceremony will take place on Thursday, April 30 at 10 a.m. in Crisler Center, 333 E Stadium Blvd, in Ann Arbor. UMSI will also celebrate 2026 graduates with a reception at 5 p.m. in Ingalls Mall, 881 N University Ave, Ann Arbor. 

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For more information on the University of Michigan’s commencement ceremonies, please visit the U-M Commencement website.