Sonia Melara

Sonia Melara serves as a Part-Time Lecturer and BASW Internship Coordinator in the School of Social Work at San Francisco State University, a position she has held since 2001 while maintaining an active executive career. She concurrently serves as Executive Director of Rally Family Visitation Services at Saint Francis Memorial Hospital and brings over 30 years of cross-sector administrative experience spanning government, non-profit, and for-profit organizations.

Her educational background includes:

• BA in English from San Francisco State University
• MSW from San Francisco State University

Melara's professional focus centers on systemic social interventions, with pioneering work in Domestic Violence prevention through co-founding California's first domestic violence shelter (La Casa De Las Madres) and Women's Economic Empowerment via La Cocina - a food industry business incubator for low-income women. Her expertise extends to Immigrant Rights advocacy, Juvenile Justice reform, and community development initiatives that address structural inequalities.

Her public service legacy includes appointments under five San Francisco Mayors across critical commissions: serving as President of the Health Commission, membership on the Immigrant Rights Commission, Police Commission, and Commission on the Status of Women. President Carter appointed her to the National Advisory Commission on Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, highlighting her national impact.

Melara currently serves on the Metta Fund Board of Directors while maintaining her dual academic-executive roles, demonstrating sustained commitment to social justice through both institutional leadership and grassroots community engagement.