Kent State University alumna Sonia Karkare, BS ‘93, MS ‘96, has worked on three continents, served in one of the largest nonprofits in the U.S. that leads global digital transformations in the humanitarian sector, promoted women in STEM fields and worked as a professor, a public speaker and a philanthropist.
After 27 years of travel and pivoting to various international endeavors, Karkare, a native of Mumbai, India, is now back at Kent State as an adjunct faculty member with the Ambassador Crawford College of Business and Entrepreneurship’s Executive MBA (Master of Business Administration) program. She is teaching diverse types of courses, including the Digital Transformation in Healthcare course.
Given all this, it is hard to fathom that Karkare had never seen or operated a computer when she arrived at Kent State in 1990 at the age of 18.
Karkare's father insisted that she major in computer science because the U.S. had expertise in cutting-edge technology. During the first assignment in her first class at Kent State, when Karkare made a mistake she would begin a new file. She did this five times because she did not know there was an erase button. That is until a lab tutor showed her how to use this magical key – the backspace key. It was then that she learned an invaluable, life-changing lesson.
Karkare began to use this as a metaphor for her life and a lifelong lesson. Her mantra became: “Do not be afraid — learn — correct — move forward.”
Karkare came to Kent State in 1990 to attend college after her older sister had moved to the U.S. to attend the university, moving on to medical school at NEOMED (formerly NEOUCOM). Karkare said her mother chose Kent State for her so that she would be near her sister.
During graduate school at Kent State, Karkare was the youngest graduate student in computer science at that time. After she completed her degree, she moved to the New York City area where she worked as an engineer and developer.
When the 9/11 tragedy occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, Karkare lost a mentor and two close friends.
“That incident completely changed my life,” Karkare said. “I began to wonder what I was supposed to do with my degree in computer science so that I can make a difference in this world.”
She co-founded Ankore Works, a company that enabled organizations to leverage technology for social impact, hiring stay-at-home moms and young women starting their careers.
Among her many international endeavors, Karkare worked with the Global Fund on its CIO leadership team and Doctors Without Borders out of Geneva, Switzerland, and in the U.S., leading various digital technology and diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives.
From 2021-2023 Karkare led and developed a digital transformation strategy and road map for Doctors Without Borders, West and Central Africa.
In 2021, she earned a professional MBA from the Roxbourg Institute of Social Entrepreneurship in Switzerland with a specialization in humanitarian innovation. Currently, she is a doctoral candidate in Kent State's College of Education, Health and Human Services Interprofessional Leadership program with a concentration in Cultural Foundation in Education.
As an immigrant woman of color in technology, Karkare wants other young women of color to know it is possible for them to succeed in STEM careers.
“I managed to leave my home country, come to the U.S., work and study here then jump to another continent to work and study and then work in the African continent as well,” she said. “I’ve done progressive work and now I have come back full circle.”
WRITTEN BY: APRIL MCCLELLAN-COPELAND