Sonya Iverson, Executive Director

Sonya co-founded Crossing Lines in 2013 to use the striking imagery of highlining to change the conversation about the Middle East. In 2014, she led the first Crossing Lines project in Iran where the Iranian and American team established new highlines and hosted the first Iranian international highline festival. She is currently organizing the second Crossing Lines festival which will be hosted in Lebanon in 2018 with many of the best highliners in the world and a team of photographers, and videographers.

When the travel ban was announced in January 2017, Sonya began a new Crossing Lines initiative to use slacklining to change how we see and talk about refugees. Slacklining builds balance, coordination, and confidence and can alleviate symptoms of psychological stress and trauma. The Crossing Lines team is currently teaching slacklining to refugee kids in Lebanon and the U.S. through local partners to aid in social integration and community development, to provide a playful physical education experience, and to create striking media to influence public perception of refugees.

Sonya is a digital nomad and works as a freelance biotech consultant while building the Crossing Lines projects.