Today we have Sonia Mehrmand on the show. Sonia is currently the Field Manager for StoryCorps’ One Small Step project in the Central Valley. She received her Master’s degree in Public History and Museum Studies at UC Riverside, and shortly thereafter moved to Sydney, Australia. During her 4 years there, she worked across the art sector and eventually became Assistant Executive Director at Diversity Arts Australia, a national arts advocacy organization. Sonia is also a freelance creative producer and is on the leadership team for Fresno’s Inhabit Arts Collaborative (@inhabitartscollaborative). She is passionate about increasing equity and access in the arts, and regularly serves as panelist for California Arts Council grants. Her projects are grounded in inclusive storytelling, reciprocity, collaboration, mentorship. Sonia lives on Yokuts land in Visalia.

About One Small Step
One Small Step from StoryCorps is an effort to reconnect Americans, one conversation at a time. Participants will meet someone new — a community member with different views, who they might never talk to otherwise — for a simple, personal, 50-minute conversation. One Small Step helps us move beyond labels like "Democrat" and "Republican" and into the life experiences that shaped how each of us sees our world.

Click here to learn more about it.

Books:

Four Lost Cities: A Secret History of the Urban Age Annalee Newitz

Circe and The Song of Achilles Madeline Miller 

Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents Octavia Butler

MaddAddam Trilogy Margaret Atwood