Sonya Grier
Why did you choose Northwestern?
I had participated in the Leadership Education and Development (LEAD) program at Columbia University as a junior in high school and received a lot of information from Northwestern which was also a LEAD school. I was intrigued by the diversity of programs fascinating as I wasn't 100% sure what I wanted to do. I came to visit on a warm day in the spring, and students were sitting outside in shorts, on the beach, etc. The drive was four hours from my hometown, close enough to get home easily but far enough to not be in my own backyard. I became a part of the first class in CCI–the residence dorm focused on commerce and industry.
I went to work at Kraft for two years. Then, I decided to return to school to better understand marketing–especially after I saw many in my department laid off after Kraft was bought by Phillip Morris. I was the only non-MBA in the department (a trainee experiment–thank you Northwestern!). Marketing- that’s Kellogg- it was THE place for me to go, despite wanting to go someplace else.
As a concerned MBA student at Northwestern University in 1990, I designed an independent study and worked with a marketing professor to investigate the absence of black faculty in our program. I learned more about faculty life and academia and enrolled in Northwestern once again to study marketing for my doctoral degree.
How would you describe your research and/or work to a non-academic audience? What was it then and/or what it is now?
I aim for my research to support consumer and marketplace equity. I have always been interested in race and social justice, and my dissertation examined the role of race in people's decision-making. Over time, my research has evolved to examine the variety of ways race and racial dynamics influence people's experiences and outcomes across diverse marketplaces (commercial, health, educational, employment, etc..) and strategies to create and support marketplace equity. A significant portion of my research examines how targeted food marketing to Black and Latinx populations does not support healthy eating and identifies ways that it might better support nutritional equity. More recently, my focus has turned to identifying ways to shape marketing practices and activities to support fair and equitable marketplaces across domains.
Tell us who or what inspired your research and/or work.
I’d have to say my first inspiration is my mother. She has always been an advocate for fairness and social justice. So the importance of these issues has always been a part of me. I can remember in my high school history class, the textbook had one sentence about apartheid and pass laws. I couldn’t believe this was possible. I went to my history teacher, who suggested I write my senior thesis on the topic which I did. Learning about the explicit indirect use of race for the subjugation of a population in high school made an impression in my mind and laid the foundation for the work that I do today. Over the years, as I ran into people in places who thought similarly this continues to inspire me to move in this way. Years later, my dissertation research was conducted in South Africa, while serving as a teaching assistant for Dr. Marcus Alexis. Moe generally my work was spurred by observing numerous inequities in the marketplace and wanting to use my research in the service of more equitable and fair marketplaces.
What are you most proud of in your career to date?
I am proud to have ignored well-meaning advice I received to NOT study race lest I get typecast. I am proud to have pursued my passion and created work that helps inform many of today’s crucial issues related to racial dynamics in diverse marketplaces. My hope is that my work contributes to our making society a better place. Related, I have seen issues related to my work that received limited attention grow in public concern as well as academic interest. For example, I was invited to give a keynote talk in Bioethics around targeted marketing of unhealthy foods to Black and Brown youth. In addition, I was asked to write a review of targeted marketing for "Annual Review in Public Health." There is also teaching. I am proud to be able to share real-world dynamics related to race, as well as other topics I teach (e.g. marketing for social change) with students who will change the world.
Tell us about a current achievement or something you're working on that excites you.
I am also proud to have cofounded (2015) a research network focused on race: Race in the Marketplace (rimnetwork.net). We have published an edited volume, to special issues of marketing journals, and held two conferences, including one in Paris in 2019. Now we are working on a tribute conference for Dr. Geraldine Henderson, a duel Northwestern alum (MBA/PhD who was my classmate (we were the first two Black women to enroll in the graduate form of the program) who passed away last year and was on our founding advisory board.
In addition to the conference, I’m also developing a course called “Race in the Marketplace," which I will be teaching next year the American University School of Business.
What advice would you give your younger self or someone considering a similar path?
Be open to the flow of life at the same time as you plan. And don't be afraid to follow what you know is right.