Sonja is no stranger to the Middle East. She was VOA’s Cairo Bureau Chief from 1989-1993. She provided on-scene coverage of the 1991 Gulf War, the Kurdish refugee crisis, the beginnings of the civil war in Algeria, the first Islamic militant attacks against tourists in Egypt as well as the first halting steps toward Middle East peace that resulted in the Oslo Peace Accords.

Ms. Pace joined VOA in 1976 as a broadcaster in the German Service. In 1980, she was assigned as a reporter and on-air host in VOA’s English to Africa Service. Five years later, Sonja became VOA’s first woman correspondent in West Africa. From her base in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, she reported from 25 countries in West and Central Africa.

Her next assignment was Cairo. In 1993 she was appointed bureau chief in Paris. From there Sonja reported on events in Western Europe, but was also called upon to cover the war in Bosnia and the Rwanda genocide and the ensuing refugee crisis.

Prior to her Moscow assignment in 2000, Sonja served as Chief of Assignments and then VOA News Director. Sonja was born in Munich, Germany. She holds a B.A. from the American University in Washington D.C. and a Masters Degree from George Washington University. Sonja is married to VOA correspondent Larry James. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, reading and gardening.