On October 27, San Francisco Global Shapers hosted Sonya Fierst for a ShaperTalk at Minerva.
Sonya Fierst manages the Oakland branch of Grameen America, a microfinance institution founded by Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, dedicated to alleviating poverty in the US by providing affordable capital to low income female entrepreneurs. Since 2012 her branch has disbursed more than $33 million to over 4,000 women with a 100% rate of repayment.
Grameen America is the biggest and fastest growing nonprofit microfinance institution in the country. Their Oakland branch is located in the heart of Fruitvale and serves members from communities around the Bay Area including San Francisco, Oakland, Hayward, Richmond, San Leandro, and Fremont.
Prior to joining GA Sonya was Director of World Internships, a company pairing student leaders and recent college grads with work experience globally. She was a 2010 Rotary Ambassadorial Scholar to Medellin, Colombia where she pursued a MA in Political Studies, focusing on Latin American Geopolitics.
