Sonya Young Aadam

About Sonya

• I was born and raised in a tough neighborhood in South Los Angeles, California.
• I had a passion for both business and community, so I decided I’d pursue a business degree and serve the community by hopefully working for the World Bank or International Monetary Fund.
• I earned my bachelor’s degree in business from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.
• After graduating, I started my career in commercial and investment banking—it was a good job and I was making great money, but I didn’t feel fulfilled because I wasn’t serving the community.
• When I moved back to Los Angeles, I was shocked by how little had improved within the community, so I started getting involved by working with a church, teaching classes, and donating money.
• I shifted into the entertainment industry and worked in sales and strategy for companies like The Walt Disney Company and MTV Networks.
• I eventually grew a distaste for the work I was doing in both banking and entertainment because it wasn’t feeding my heart and soul—I took two years off to really think about what I wanted to do.
• I made a career shift to work for community-serving organizations, which led to my position now with California Black Women’s Health Project.