Sonia Delen
Sonia Delen is an accomplished entrepreneur, cultural advocate, and community leader. She is the Managing Partner of AcuGlobal Endeavors, LLC, a California-based advisory and consulting firm that supports foreign-based entrepreneurs—particularly from the Philippines—in establishing and growing businesses in the United States. AcuGlobal provides strategic services in management, finance, legal and immigration support, and market entry. A passionate advocate for small businesses, Sonia champions women and minorities in both entrepreneurial and corporate sectors.
Sonia is also a partner and producer at OneUp Film Studios, where she leads projects that highlight Filipino stories and talent on the global stage. Her recent works include The Road to Sydney—a documentary on transgender rights that premiered at the Cannes Film Festival (2025); the acclaimed feature documentary Harana, and short films Maybe It’s Just the Rain and Lahi. She continues to support projects that amplify Filipino narratives through film and media.
Until May 2025, Sonia was a Director at Bank of America – Global Leasing, concluding a 31-year career with one of the world’s largest financial institutions. As a Transaction Manager, she was primarily responsible for the negotiation and execution of multi-million-dollar financing transactions, where her structural and industry knowledge and professionalism were highly respected and recognized. She currently serves on multiple nonprofit boards and is also a published author, executive producer, and sought-after motivational speaker on leadership, diversity, work-life integration, and entrepreneurship.
In 2018, Sonia made history as the first Filipina-American and Asian-American non-lawyer appointed by former Governor Brown, as a public member to the Board of Trustees of the State Bar of California, the regulatory agency of the Supreme Court of California.
She was honored as one of The Top 50 Women Leaders of San Francisco for 2022 by Women We Admire and is featured in the 2025 edition of Marquis Who’s Who. She serves as a board member of United Success Global, an international network of women entrepreneurs and impact investors, and is an active member of the Filipina Women’s Network (FWN), a global association of Filipinas advocating to empower women as leaders and policy makers on economic and social justice and women’s rights globally.
As Chairperson of the Apl.de.ap Foundation International and Director of the University of the Philippines (UP) Alumni Association of San Francisco (UPAASF), Sonia led a campaign that secured a donation of 300,000 units covid-19 testing kits (valued at $2.85 million) to UP-Philippine General Hospital. In 2013, she co-founded UPAASF’s Filipino Cultural Immersion Camp, introducing Filipino-American youth to Philippine culture, history, language, and traditions.
Sonia also spearheads the Campaign for Filipino Children, an Apl.de.ap Foundation initiative to combat preventable blindness in newborns. The project provides critical training and equipment for treating Retinopathy of Prematurity (ROP) in regional hospitals across the Philippines, with established sites in Davao and Pampanga, and upcoming expansion in Iloilo.
A passionate advocate of Filipino heritage, Sonia is the Co-founder and President of the Filipino Food Movement (FFM), a nonprofit promoting Filipino cuisine worldwide. Under her leadership, FFM has elevated Filipino food to mainstream recognition through media, education, and events—including a historic event at the James Beard House.
Sonia is also a contributing author to several leadership anthologies, including FWN’s DISRUPT series, Rooted in Practice: Pinays in Law (2023), and Iconic Pinoy Maharlika (2023), published in Dubai.
Sonia graduated from the University of the Philippines (UP) with a B.S. degree in Foreign Service. Sonia enjoys playing golf, traveling, classical music and the opera. She lives in San Francisco with her spouse, Christopher Fitzsimmons and their three boys: David, Justin & Matt.