She is a member of the Mills Teacher Scholars group, where she with colleagues on classroom inquiry to better understand student learning. Additionally, Sonya is a 2014 New Leaders Council fellow, where she partners with people from many sectors to do transformative progressive work. Sonya graduated with honors from UCLA, and throughout college she worked on a variety of campaigns including the federal DREAM Act and the election of Steve Zimmer to the LAUSD school board in 2009. Sonya received her MA in education and bilingual credential (Spanish) from UC Berkeley in 2012. She currently teaches in the Fruitvale district of Oakland, where she is leading efforts to launch a school garden.