Sunil Atreya earned his bachelor's degree from Maharaja Sayajirao University, Baroda and his master's degree in institutional administration from Oklahoma State University. Atreya worked in the hotel industry in a management capacity in India with the Welcome Group Chain of hotels, as well as with the Marriott and Holiday Inn corporations in the U.S. Prior to joining the faculty at Johnson & Wales University, Atreya taught at the University of Minnesota Crookston in the hotel program. He is a Certified Hospitality Educator from the Education Institute of the American Hotel & Lodging Association.