Sonya Bird

Sonya Bird is the Vice President International Standards for UL Standards & Engagement.  In this role, she is responsible for developing and implementing the ULSE international standards strategy, including leading the ULSE international standards outreach and relationships, driving ULSE participation in outside standards development, working with key partners, and overseeing UL’s international harmonization activities.

With more than 30 years of standardization management experience, Sonya is a longtime leader in regional and international standards initiatives on numerous fronts. She is a member of the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), Business Advisory Committee, and was until January 2023 the U.S. representative of the IEC Standardization Management Board (SMB) and the Vice-President (Technical) of the US National Committee (USNC) of the IEC.

Sonya is a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Board of Directors. She was recently named Vice Chair of the ANSI International Policy Advisory Group and is a member of the ANSI ISO Council. She routinely represents the US in bilateral meetings. Sonya was president, vice president, and membership director of SES, The Society for Standards Professionals. 

Sonya has been recognized for her contributions to international standardization by the IEC (IEC Thomas A. Edison award), ANSI (Howard Coonley Medal, Elihu Thomson Electrotechnology Medal, and ANSI Meritorious Service Award), and SES – The Society for Standards Professionals (SES Fellow, and SES/CSA Lorne K Wagner Memorial Award).  She is also a Corporate Fellow in the William Henry Merrill Society in recognition of significant and sustained contributions to the fulfillment of UL’s public safety mission. 

Bird holds a B.S. in electrical engineering from North Carolina State University and a certificate in business management from the Yale School of Management.