Sonia is a former journalist, who has worked in Australia, Malaysia and the United Kingdom and once won an award for a piece on how to become a spy. She co-founded the Centre for Independent Journalism in Malaysia and currently works for the Sortition Foundation in Melbourne. With a PhD in feminist media studies from the University of Melbourne, she has published on women and media, freedom of expression, freedom of information and access to environmental information, mainly in a Malaysian context. In her current role, she is an active member of the international Democracy Research and Development network, and has been involved in recruiting for democratic lotteries across the UK, Europe and Australia.