PDC Team: Johnson, Sonja

Sonja Johnson

Sonja currently serves as the Chair of the International Chess Federation (FIDE) Planning and Development Commission (PDC) where she is responsible for overseeing and coordinating the activities of the PDC. She is also the President of the Trinidad and Tobago Chess Association (TTCA), where she contributed to the improvement of the standards of operation within the TTCA while also focusing on inclusivity. Sonja also serves as Chair of the Arbitration Panel of the Trinidad and Tobago Olympic Committee.

She has volunteered in chess programmes for children at risk and held chess tournaments at the Maximum Security Prison and the Carrera Prison. Under her leadership, the TTCA was awarded Top Administration (Small) from First Citizens Sports Foundation for 2015, 2016 and 2018 and the Top Sporting Organisation (Large) in 2019. Under her stewardship, the TTCA produced its first publication: “The First Moves: Celebrating 80 years of Chess in Trinidad and Tobago” in commemoration of the TTCA’s 80th Anniversary in 2016. Sonja also holds an International Organiser(IO) title, which she obtained in 2016.

Sonja is a senior level manager with over 15 years’ experience spanning Financial Services, Stakeholder Relations, Public Affairs, Business Development, Customer Care and Strategic Planning. She has worked extensively with internal and external stakeholders including several local, public sector and international entities across various industries and countries.

Sonja possesses a Masters in Business Administration(MBA), specialising in International Finance, as well as a BSc. in Computer Studies (Hons.) from the University of the West Indies. She also successfully completed the Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM) programme from the Project Management Institute. Sonja has participated in several professional training programmes including Leadership, Compliance, Risk Management, Project Management, Strategic Planning and Sales. She has also facilitated team-building and coaching sessions. She is a native English speaker and has a functional knowledge of Spanish.