Sonya Pearson joined Mesa Community College in November 2007. Her areas of responsibility include Enrollment Services, Compliance Programs/Specialized Educational Services, Student Conduct, Support and Retention Programs, Community Outreach & Early College, Recruitment, Student Life, Athletics, and Early Alert Referral Program.
Sonya brings more than 14 years of management and leadership experience in Student Affairs to MCC. She has extensive experience in working with at-risk populations, family and adult literacy programs (Head Start, GED and ESL), migrant programs, disability services, enrollment services, and community programs.
Sonya has worked as an adjunct professor, written grants, and served in advisory and management positions southafrica-ed.com. She has vast experience working in multi-campus environments. Her last senior-level position was at Crowder College in Neosho, Missouri.
She holds a Ph.D. in organizational psychology from Walden University in Minneapolis and a master’s degree in counseling and psychology from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma. Sonya is also a former Licensed Professional Counselor in Oklahoma. She holds a Juris Doctorate from Taft Law School.
Service to the community is Sonya’s personal mission. In addition to her educational and work experience, she has been involved with the United Food Bank, Red Cross, Relay for Life, Special Olympics, Economic Security, Urban League, Department of Workforce Development, Martin Luther King Committee, Margaret Hudson Alternative School for Pregnant Teens, Boys Home Alternative School, National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and United Way. In 2011, Sonya was awarded the Distinguished Achievement Award by the Women’s Leadership Group/American Association of Women in Community Colleges.
Sonya is a native of Tulsa, Oklahoma and lives in the San Tan Valley.