About Sonya

Sonya serves as the Director of Prison and Justice writing program at PEN America. Prior to that, she held the role of Advocacy Program Director at Boston University’s Center for Antiracist Research, founded by Dr. Ibram X. Kendi. With a background in medical anthropology and public health, her scholarship and practice lie in designing antiracist child welfare and juvenile justice systems, both in the U.S. and in India. Through community organizing, critical ethnography, community participatory research, and policy advocacy, Sonya strives to bridge the gap between academics, policymakers, and activists in order to institutionalize community voice in systemic policy change. She has worked in the U.S., South Asia, and East Africa for various youth justice community-based organizations & public systems, including the Los Angeles County Department of Child & Family Services, Harvard FXB Center for Health & Human Rights, Partners In Health, and the Office of Mayor Cory Booker. Sonya co-led the Los Angeles County Youth Commission, the first-ever governing body led by systems-impacted youth with formal power in Los Angeles who design policies for the country’s largest child welfare and juvenile justice systems.  Sonya completed her B.S. in Health Promotion & Disease Prevention and Master’s of Public Health from the University of Southern California. She pursued a second master’s degree studying medical anthropology and ethics at Harvard University, where she was a Harvard Women & Public Policy Program fellow in Nepal, Harvard Hauser Center for Non-profit Organizations fellow, and Harvard Humanitarian Initiative fellow in Kashmir.