Jess Sonney

(she/her/hers)

  • Director of Student Leadership & Civic Engagement

Education

  • MA, educational theory & policy, The Pennsylvania State University
  • BS, education and public policy, The Pennsylvania State University

Biography

Jess Sonney serves as the Director of Student Leadership & Civic Engagement. In her role, she is responsible for leadership education and development of Oberlin students. She also chairs the democratic engagement coalition, OC Votes, which prepares the Oberlin community with voter education and programming. She works alongside the Office of Student Leadership and Involvement to create programming and engagement opportunities for students to learn more about themselves as leaders and to create change in the world around them. She loves working in both one to one and group settings to help leaders grow. Contact Jess if you are interested in Oberlin's leadership programming or if you'd like to get more information about voting, elections, and civic engagement!

Prior to Oberlin, Jess worked in residence life at the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Both her undergraduate and graduate degrees in education policy come from The Pennsylvania State University. 

She lives with her spouse, Kyler and pets Mabel and Goose and loves using her free time to read, be outdoors, and explore the Cleveland area.

Fall 2024

Leadership Change: Introduction to Leadership Development — LEAD 220

Spring 2025

Leadership Change: Introduction to Leadership Development — LEAD 220