Senior Fellow, Perspective FundFirelight Media
Sonya Childress has positioned film as a tool to shift narratives and support social justice movement building for over 20 years. Sonya currently serves as a Senior Fellow with the Perspective Fund, a philanthropic resource for documentary film and impact campaigns, where she conducts field-building research, writing and convenings.
A veteran cultural strategist, Sonya served as the Director of Partnerships and Engagement for Firelight Media, where she led impact campaigns for veteran director Stanley Nelson’s films, including Freedom Summer, Freedom Riders, Tell Them We Are Rising: The Story of Black Colleges and Universities and The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution. She has led impact campaigns and advised countless filmmakers on their impact and theatrical strategies, including Yance Ford (Strong Island), Peter Bratt (Dolores), Steve James (The Interrupters), Cristina Ibarra and Alex Rivera (The Infiltrators), Byron Hurt (Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats and Rhymes) and Jeff Zimbalist (Favela Rising). Sonya held staff and consulting positions at Active Voice, California Newsreel, Kartemquin Films, ITVS and Working Films. She founded Firelight’s Impact Producer Fellowship, a yearlong mentorship and training program for impact producers of color. A graduate of UC Berkeley, she is a frequent speaker, funding panelist, and was an inaugural 2015 Rockwood JustFilms fellow. Sonya is a trustee of The Whitman Institute, which advances social, political, and economic equity through Trust Based Philanthropy. Sonya resides in Los Angeles.