Sonia is a Ukrainian-Canadian lawyer with 20 years’ experience in international law, business and economic development strategy. Sonia started her career as a corporate finance lawyer at two of Canada’s top law firms focusing on large renewable energy, natural resources and infrastructure projects. Sonia has done business in more than a dozen countries, bridging ancestral knowledge systems and modern ways, and supporting in building life supporting economies. Sonia has worked for the Public Defender’s Office in Argentina, as legal advisor to the Prime Minister of Ukraine on democratic governance, and for the President of the Commission of Human Rights and Justice in Mexico.

In 2013, Sonia co-founded the Global Indigenous Development Trust that supports Indigenous leadership in land and resource governance, and in building wealth sovereignty for the wellbeing of future generations. Sonia is founding director of Mno Aki Land Trust and Spirit Rock Resources Corp.
which are empowering Indigenous ownership over land, wealth, and resources. In 2019, Sonia led in the creation of the University of Toronto’s Center for Global Engineering Reconciliation Through Engineering Initiative (RTEI) - a ‘two-eyed seeing’ approach to applied research in the areas of energy, housing, water, food and transportation infrastructure systems.

Sonia is a published author of, “A New Human Story: A Co-Creators Guide to Living our True Potential” and a two-time Tedx Talk speaker. She lives in the country where she grows her own food, forages, and works with our Mother Earth to continue to uncover her secrets. Sonia is fluent in English, Ukrainian and Spanish.