Sonja Smith is a native of Birmingham and the daughter of Marcellus and Sundra Smith. She received a degree in Music from Birmingham-Southern College and continued her studies at Louisiana State University where she earned a Master’s in Music with a concentration in Piano Pedagogy. After graduating LSU, Ms. Smith moved to Chicago where she taught private piano lessons along with lecture and applied music classes at A.C.E. Tech High School and Malcolm X College, one of the City Colleges of Chicago.

She currently serves as Project Manager at the Negro Southern League Museum (NSLM).  The NSLM is dedicated to preserving the history of Negro League baseball in America through the lens of Birmingham, AL and the Birmingham Black Barons.  She is a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, the Birmingham Museum of Art Trustee Board, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.