Photo by Mitchell Davis

Sonia Grays | Marketing Consultant

As a former YMCA director, Sonia worked closely with the Bay area’s migrant population, an experience she says was an eye-opener. “Things we take for granted – diapers, food, water – when you see the need up close and you touch someone like that, it turns your world around.” When the long-time West Tampa resident decided to launch a marketing consulting business, she vowed to clear up generalizations in the business community about the Hispanic marketplace, and to help businesses develop more targeted messages to reach the different audiences within a broad Hispanic demographic. Besides growing Convergencia International, Sonia is determined to support the area’s diverse population by developing a nonprofit Hispanic resource center and scholarship program. “Whatever you do, you’ve got to give back to the community,” she says. “People come here with degrees in medicine and chemistry and must start over. What resources can we provide to help them have a better quality of life once they’re here?”