Sonya Walton

Sonya Walton has been with Messer for over 14 years and has held various roles ranging from economic inclusion assistant to economic inclusion vice president. She has applied her expertise in supplier diversity, workforce diversity and community engagement to make the construction industry a better place for people from all backgrounds, as well as minority-women and veteran-owned businesses. In her current role as Economic Inclusion Vice President, she oversees all supplier diversity strategies and initiatives across Messer’s 10 regional locations and chairs the company’s Supplier Diversity Leadership Team.  Under Sonya’s direction, Messer increased its total M/WBE spend from $35 million in 2005 to a record $278 million in 2020.

Sonya is a Certified Professional of Supplier Diversity by the Institute of Supply Management and holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration, magna cum laude, from Indiana Wesleyan University. She has been featured in the Who’s Who of Black Cincinnati publication; is a graduate of the Urban League of Greater Southwestern Ohio’s Leadership Development Program, Cincinnati Regional Chamber’s WE Leadership Program, and the YWCA Rising Star Leadership Program. Sonya is a past board member of the Lighthouse Youth Services, Partnership for Supplier Diversity Professionals (Education Chair) and Board Vice President of the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Greater Cincinnati. Sonya was recognized as the 2016 Advocate of the Year and received the Leadership Award for 2020 from the Ohio Minority Supplier Development Council.