2026 40 Under 40 Honoree: Sony Ton-Aime (35)
“Storytelling is the way we make sense of the world. Language differentiates us from other animals, but it is storytelling that makes [us] human.”
PHOTO BY LAURA PETRILLA
Sony Ton-Aime
Executive Director of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures
Sony Ton-Aime spent his childhood in northeastern Haiti; it’s where the value of community and storytelling was instilled in him. When he immigrated to the United States in 2010, he had a few “little detours:” he returned to Haiti to work in accounting, worked at a Cleveland nonprofit focused on youth and creative writing, attended Kent State University, where he earned a Master of Fine Arts in poetry, and completed a fellowship at the university’s Wick Poetry Center.
In 2023, he landed the role of the executive director of Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, where he was able to combine his love for storytelling and community in a diverse role. In the span of one week, he can be found hosting a literary event, bringing a famous author to a local school or reading poems from his 2026 book, “Konbit.”
Since joining Pittsburgh Arts & Lectures, Ton-Aime has hosted over 30 literary events annually, which have attracted over 20,000 people.
