Sonia Grice: Working to staff Community Action and Human Services

Sonia Grice, director of the Community Action and Human Services Department, has over 25 years working for Miami-Dade County. Looking back, she is amazed at the positions she has held. 

Ms. Grice started at the department she now heads as a social worker for the Beckham Hall Homeless Shelter for Men. “Of course, I was naïve. I thought I could help every man that entered the doors, and I was extremely excited about the opportunity,” she said. 

After almost two years, she started working as a social worker for the Homeless Assessment Referral and Tracking Program. After that, she went to the Housing Opportunities for People with AIDS Program. 

“My favorite job was the housing opportunity program for people with AIDS,” Ms. Grice said. “I enjoyed that job because I always like listening to people, so I enjoyed sitting with the applicants.” 

From that position, she served 18 years in neighborhood services centers, at the Domestic Violence Oversight Board, assistant to the deputy mayor, and at the Department of Regulatory and Economic Resources. 

Ms. Grice was appointed in August by Mayor Daniella Levine Cava to lead the Community Action and Human Services Department, a responsibility she manages with commitment and passion. “The work that we do and serving the residents is very important. Being a public servant is important, and I believe that’s what I was born to do,” she said. 

Sonia Grice spoke with Miami Today reporter Gabriela Henriquez Stoikow. 

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