Menka Soni

Some Lesser Known Facts About Menka Soni

• Menka Soni was born in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, and raised in Lucknow.

• In an interview, Menka Soni revealed that she was born in a conservative family. She was the fifth-born girl of her parents, who were waiting for a boy. She added that because of being a girl, she faced bias.

• She once revealed that her father refused to let her continue her education in English medium after the 10th grade, but her mother supported her. She even paid for her MBA from her own savings, believing in her dreams when no one else did.

• Menka Soni was the first girl of her family to pursue higher education and work.

• I997, she began her career in the corporate world, and worked for more than 30 years with major companies including Microsoft, T-Mobile, Starbucks, and General Motors.

• In 2004, after she got married and moved to the USA with her husband.

• In 2009, due to her visa issues, she had to leave her corporate job and sit at home on a dependent visa.

• In 2011, Soni was appointed as the vice president of the OneRedmond Foundation. She has spent 14 years supporting Redmond’s Chamber of Commerce and economic development initiatives.

• In 2013, Menka launched her first designer apparel brand, Ravishing Inc., to support Lucknow’s hand-embroidered Chikan artisans, rural embroiderers, and women business owners, and opened her first store in downtown Redmond, Seattle

• In the same year, she hosted the first Ravishing Women’s Ms. India Washington pageant to motivate women to showcase their talent and confidence. Through this work, she became a mentor and coach to many women and strongly advocated against violence toward women, including domestic violence.

• In 2013, she founded Ampowering, a non-profit organisation that fights homelessness, food insecurity, and social isolation, serving thousands of meals weekly to low-income and homeless people in Redmond. AmPowering also supports communities across the USA, Canada, and India, focusing on education, women’s empowerment, and community transformation.

• After some time, she launched the Indian Cultural Center, “PRANAAM INDIA”, in Redmond, where she brought recognition for Indian culture and arts.

• In 2014, she became a cultural ambassador of India in the U.S.A. and launched a new concept of ‘RESOCLANT’, a unique combination of Resort, Restaurant, and Club. Unfortunately,y after a few months, the city decided to convert it to appartment and Menka lost both the leased space and her conceptual cultural center.

• In 2015, she joined Renton’s Mayor-Appointed Inclusion Task Force for promoting equity, inclusion, and community representation in Renton.

• In 2016, Soni started serving on Renton’s Lodging & Tourism Board, where she spent nine years to support the local tourism, business growth, and cultural visibility.

• In 2018, Menka Soni became the CEO of North America Fashion Week (NAFW). Through this platform, she has supported emerging talent and promoted cultural diversity in the fashion industry. Under her leadership, NAFW has grown into a well-known showcase of creativity, innovation, and inclusivity, featuring renowned designers such as Neeta Lulla, Papa Don’t Preach, Vikram Phadnis, Nikhil Thampi, Rohit Verma, and many others.

• Apart from hosting and organising fashion week, Soni is also a well-known and award-winning international pageant director at both the Indian and global levels. She has led major pageants such as Miss Teen, Miss and Mrs. India Canada, India Worldwide, Mr. and Ms. Global Asia, Miss Teen, Miss and Mrs. India Washington and Oregon, and Mr. and Miss Empowering World.

  

• In 2019, she hosted the Ravishing Women Festival, which was supported by the Mayor of Renton, many senators, council members, the governor, police chiefs, and Bollywood celebrities. Menka Soni’s events are known for being well organized and for attracting designers, artists, fashion houses, and celebrities from the USA, Canada, India, Africa, Korea, China, Cambodia, and other Asian countries.

• Soni also leads Sonasme Productions, a social impact-driven media and event production company, and numerous cultural events that celebrate diversity and empower local communities in Redmond.

• She is known for organizing some of Washington’s largest multicultural festivals, including the Color Festival, attended by 15,000+ people from all backgrounds.

• Since 2021, Soni has been serving as an advisory board member for South King County Housing & Homelessness Partners (SKHHP), where she has been working on regional housing and homelessness solutions.

• For over 14 years, Soni has served as the Vice President of the OneRedmond Foundation, a chamber of commerce and economic development partner in Redmond.

• In December 2025, Menka Soni was sworn in as Redmond City Councillor and made history by becoming the first Indian-American woman to take the oath with the Bhagwad Gita.

  

• In an interview, she shared,

I have been spiritual since childhood. Holding the Gita during the oath was my way of honouring my values and India’s cultural legacy. I am very spiritual. I have a temple in my house, and I am a vegetarian… When I had to take the oath, I wanted the teachings of the Gita to be with me… I also went to a Sai Baba temple there…”

• Menka Soni’s daughters launched the AmPowering Youth Board in Redmond, where they are empowering the youth today under the guidance of their mother.