2020 Honoree

Danielle Sonnefeld, VP of business development for NA Williams, got her start in the aftermarket working for an air tool manufacturer roughly 13 years ago. She has accomplished a great deal in the aftermarket since she began, but, it wasn’t her work at her day job where she has made the most impact.

“Being an active contributor in your business is obviously very important, but figuring out how to be an active contributor to the industry as a whole is really where I got a lot of fulfillment in my career,” Sonnefeld says.

Sonnefeld’s true passion is for scholarships and helping students get an education to pursue their dreams.

“Being an active member of Women in Auto Care for the past 10 years, I’ve been a part of our Scholarship Committee and we’ve really grown the number of scholarships we give out to women who are wanting to join our industry,” says Sonnefeld. “When I joined, we were giving out less than $10,000 a year, and now we annually give out $100,000 a year. It’s been awesome being part of the journey.”

Sonnefeld also recently became the co-chair of the Scholarship Committee for the University of the Aftermarket Foundation, which gave out more than $557,000 in scholarships in 2019.

“We’re all really fortunate to work for a great industry that acts like a big family,” she says. “We take care of each other and that’s pretty unique.”