Sona T. Smith

Birth Justice Program Officer, Ms. Foundation for Women

Illinois

Sona Smith is an accomplished equity and justice-centered philanthropic leader with over 15 years of progressive leadership experience in the nonprofit sector. She is a birth justice program officer for the Ms. Foundation for Women. In this role, she is responsible for developing and implementing the birth justice grantmaking strategy with the goal of increasing financial and capacity-building resources for grassroots, women-of-color-led organizations implementing birth justice strategies to address race-based disparities in birth experiences and outcomes. Her work is informed by her lived experience as a Black mother of three amazing children and as a birth worker who has experienced firsthand the systemic inequities in accessing reproductive care. She is passionate about ensuring that those most impacted by birth injustice are supported, well-resourced, and trusted to implement community-driven strategies and systems of care to advance Birth Justice and Equity.