Sonia Narang is ACTA’s first Digital Media Specialist, based in Los Angeles. She will be supporting ACTA’s media and communications efforts, including the website, social media, and the creation of new digital media projects. Sonia is a radio and multimedia journalist from Los Angeles who covers social issues, culture, art, music, the environment, education, and health in underrepresented communities. Her reporting also focuses on the lives of women and girls, and the challenges they face around the world. Sonia’s journalism work has taken her across India, Nepal, Pakistan, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines, Germany, Denmark, southern Africa, and the United States. She has reported stories for Public Radio International’s “The World,” News Deeply, the BBC, The New York Times, PBS, Time.com, NPR, and others. She recently documented the effects of climate change on the South Pacific island nation of Fiji, the lives of refugees settling in Europe, and First Nations art and fashion in Canada. Sonia has a Master’s degree in journalism and documentary film from the University of California at Berkeley and an undergraduate degree from Amherst College in Massachusetts. Find more of her work at www.sonianarang.com and follow her on Instagram @sonianarang.
What are you looking forward to most about working with ACTA?
As a native Californian (and Angeleno!) who grew up immersed in traditional arts and culture — from Indian classical and folk music to the sounds of Okinawan sanshin in southern Japan — I’m eager to be a part of such an enriching organization. I look forward to sharing stories of the culturally diverse artists, musicians, and storytellers in my home state. Through my work with ACTA, I hope the public can better understand the powerful role of traditional arts in communities across California.