As a designer, teacher, and activist, Sonja Roberts has been a leader in urban revitalization. Among her many achievements is raising commercial designing standards as Vice President and national spokesperson of the Institute of Business Designers, furthering historic district planning as Des Moines' Plan and Zoning Commissioner, and leading the Sherman Hill Association as its President five different times over the last decade.
Sonja Roberts was born in 1949 in Madison, Wisconsin. As a young girl in Madison, Wisconsin, she grew up in an environment with very strict social rules, e.g. no dancing was allowed on Sundays and women were expected to be blissfully happy homemakers. During the 1960s, as the debate over women's enfranchisement was growing in the US, Sonja was introduced to the concept of empowerment of women and came to realize that she could do anything she wanted to do. She ran and became the first woman Student Council President in her high school (and all of mid western Wisconsin at that time ). Sonja states, "I always like to say I was born twice, once in 1949, and again as an activist in 1967. It was a time of turmoil and political unrest in our country over the Vietnam War." As the country moved towards introspection, Sonja became strongly motivated to fight social injustice. She was never arrested as a Vietnam War demonstrator, but endured several harrowing experiences of having tear gas thrown at her and being thrown into the streets by an armed National Guardsman.
Sonja moved to Iowa in 1977 and to the Sherman Hill neighborhood in 1981. Her new role as mother and budding designer did not prevent her from continuing her active political life. She fell in love with Sherman Hill and got involved in many of its association activities. As a renter in the neighborhood, she started as most neighbors do - helping with the annual house tours, baking desserts, etc... In 1987, she became a homeowner in Sherman Hill and officially a due-paying member of the association. Her neighborhood activism grew in many different ways. She shortly joined the Des Moines City Strategic Commission, and help author a short and long term plan for the city to improve Des Moines' quality of life (e.g. libraries, cultural aspects, neighborhoods). The plan continues to be a good reference for Des Moines' city managers. As Des Moines' Plan & Zoning Commissioner, Sonja continued to push the envelope and the city to work on its historic neighborhoods. She continued to actively volunteer, speak, and educate as Sherman Hill Association President in 1993-1995, and 1998-1999.
When asked how she maintains her balance between family, career, and civic duties, Sonja states, "I find I have a creative need, which is fulfilled by improving quality of life in our city, neighborhood, and community. The Sherman Hill neighborhood is unique, special, and well worth the effort. I find it humbling to see the entire spectrum of people's lives and the diversity it is embraces. My husband also bends over backwards to support my different efforts as a civic volunteer." Sonja also attributes her continued civic activism to the mentoring of husband, Jack Hatch, "He is amazing, all he does without monetary or other reward, other than to move this city into a brighter future. He is truthful, honest, and sincere. We both believe you know what the right thing is and what you need to do - even if that is sometimes painful - you have to pursue what you believe in."