Meet Filecoin Foundation Developer Advocate Sonia John

The Filecoin Foundation is thrilled to welcome Sonia John to the Filecoin Foundation team! As Developer Advocate, Sonia is a critical connection between the Foundation and Filecoin developers. She works to understand developers’ needs and help them to succeed within the community. She’s also working to expand the funnel of incoming developers to the Filecoin network to maintain a healthy community.

Based in Kenya, Sonia previously served as Community Lead for IPFS Africa. She’s the co-founder of PlayMaker Chain, an open-source blockchain-based sports science solution, and Tesrab Network, a decentralized exchange service for crypto-assets.

In South Sudan, Sonia experienced limited internet access and frequent outages, which fueled her desire to learn more about the decentralized web. And as South Sudan went through a decade-plus of hyperinflation, she started looking into Bitcoin, Ethereum, and other alternative currencies. “I started learning about these networks, about the underlying technology [blockchain] that powers them, and the applicable use cases,” Sonia says. “They’re empowering communities that have been left out of the traditional financial systems.”

Sonia is passionate about the growth of open-source software, which can give everyone, no matter where they are in the world, access to the same technologies. “It’s a game-changer in the technology landscape,” she notes, especially for those who were not typically leaders in the software industry.

Learn more from Sonia about her experience and her advice for where those interested in diving into blockchain should start in this recording from May 2021’s Virtual Blockchain Small Business Week Forum.