About Sonyia

Sonyia Turner is a real estate development project manager, worship leader and songwriter, author, and personal finance enthusiast. 

Sonyia Turner is a Real Estate Development Project Manager with the Development Finance Initiative (DFI), a program of UNC-Chapel Hill's School of Government. In her role, Sonyia provides real estate development and finance consulting to local governments across the state of North Carolina and South Carolina, and she currently manages mixed-use development projects in both states representing over $60-million of potential development.

Sonyia holds a Master’s in city and regional planning with a specialty in housing, community development, and real-estate development from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a bachelor’s degree in environmental design & architecture from North Carolina State University. Sonyia currently serves on the board of Freshly Minted Finance, a non-profit organization that equips recent Black college graduates with knowledge, capability, and confidence to manage their personal finances.

In addition to her day job, Sonyia serves as vocal director, and is a worship leader and songwriter at King's Park International Church in Durham, NC. Sonyia's journey as a worshipper began at the age of five, and since then, she has sought to continue to grow in skill and anointing. Sonyia has had the opportunity to sing with a number of Christian artists, and has lead worship in various settings from the college campus to national conferences. 

Sonyia has been writing songs, poems and short stories since she was a child, but her devotional, "Taking Your Dreams to God: A 14-Day Journey Through the Life of Hannah" is her first published written work. 

In her free time, Sonyia enjoys exercising, traveling, good movies, eating good food, and spending quality time with friends and family.