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December 2013

Sonoma City Hall

Experience History in The City of Sonoma

A History of International Relationships

The first sister city relationship was between the City of Sonoma and the City of Chambolle-Musigny, France.  With more sister city relationships to follow, the Sonoma Sister City Association was established by official agreement, signed on September 8, 1986, between the City of Sonoma and Sister Cities International (SCI). Today, we have 7 Sister City Committees all operating under the aegis of SSCA . Each of our committees work with SSCA to advance our mission and that of SCI, creating the opportunity for citizen to citizen diplomacy.  Over the years, our Sonoma City Mayor and several members of the City Council have been personally involved with delegation visits and have been on delegation visits abroad. Over the years, SSCA, with the vision of the City of Sonoma, has been an important factor in the recognition of Sonoma as international tourism destination.

Rich Historical Beginnings and Landmarks

The town of Sonoma, centered on the Sonoma Plaza, is a historically significant town in Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County, California, USA, which is just 40 miles north of the Golden Gate Bridge.  Here the Bear Flag Revolt took place in 1846 which led to independence from Mexico and California becoming a state of the United States on September 9, 1850.   Many historical landmark adobe buildings surround the Plaza, including the Sonoma Barracks and Mission San Francisco Solano which was built in 1823 and was the last of the 21 Franciscan missions built in California between the 1700 – 1800’s.  Sonoma City Hall, pictured above, was built in 1908 and is still in use today.  It is a focal point on the Plaza, which is itself a National Historic Landmark.  Sonoma is known for its “slow” food culture and Sonoma County is a center of the California’s wine industry for the Sonoma Valley AVA Appellation.  Many residents of Sonoma are third or fourth generation Italian-Americans and French-Americans, descendants of immigrants who came to the area to work in wine making.    Click here for more information about the City of Sonoma.

Photo Credit: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:C.Maylett

Winery Internship in Tokaj (Hungary)

Scan the codes below to find out about the internship and apply,  The deadline is 27 March 2026.

Join the SSCA Board of Directors

Sonoma Sister Cities Association (SSCA) is seeking individuals to apply for two key roles on the SSCA board of directors.

First is a new membership chair to sit on the volunteer-led SSCA board of directors and to guide membership recruitment and retention. The second is a new Board secretary responsible for minutes and document maintenance.

“Membership is a critical part of keeping SSCA growing and continuing our robust offerings,” said Stephanie Fine, SSCA board chair. “This is a fun role that will help us continue to engage the Sonoma Valley community and to showcase SSCA’s activities to drive citizen diplomacy.”

Fine added, “The secretary role is important to ensure that the board maintains accurate records and ensures access to those documents.”

The membership chair is responsible for promoting membership in SSCA to the community for both new and renewing members. The chair is the key individual responsible for the maintenance of membership data through the use of our online membership platform and may also send various communications to the membership. Key characteristics of the member chair include the ability to promote SSCA, network with local community groups, and analyze member data to help effectively promote SSCA’s activities.

The secretary prepares the minutes of each of the six board meetings each year, records votes and actions taken by the board, and stores documents on a drive shared by all board members.

For more information or to apply, please contact Stephanie Fine at steph6736@hotmail.com

What is The Chinese Legacy Project/ The Ting?

Many who live in our beloved wine country are unaware of the significant role played by Chinese laborers in the mid-19th century at the beginning of our world famous wine industry. Their legendary skills as vineyard workers, cave diggers, and cellar workers have been acknowledged by historians.

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Photo credit: Monica A. Menco/Artesia Animastra Vineyard
Photo credit:  Monica A. Menco/Artesia Animastra Vineyard

Fostering Global Citizen Diplomacy

Sister Cities International (SCI) was founded by President Dwight D. Eisenhower in 1956 during the Cold War Era as a 501(c)3 nonpartisan, nonprofit, national membership organization to serve a network of tens of thousands citizen diplomats around the globe who champion peace and prosperity. Through the SCI program platforms, over 145 countries have hosted visiting International leaders, engaged in cultural and arts exchanges, developed youth and education programs, provided humanitarian assistance, and stimulated economic and sustainable development.

Sonoma Sister Cities Association (SSCA) was established on September 8, 1986, by official agreement between SCI and the City of Sonoma, as a nonprofit organization to create long-term partnerships between Sonoma and communities in other countries where we have mutual, beneficial interests. Today, SSCA has seven sister city relationships that extend to four continents. Our citizen diplomats are ordinary citizens who, as a group of volunteers, pursue municipal, business, trade, educational, humanitarian, social and cultural exchanges with our sister cities. Under the auspice of the City of Sonoma and with the support of local elected officials, we are a driving part of SCI’s global network of sister city partnerships.

Learn About SSCA

Our Mission

Through international people-to-people relationships, our mission is to promote global peace through mutual respect, understanding and cooperation – – one individual, on community at at time.  This mission is advanced through four broad-based goals with our global partners to

  1. Facilitate cultural and arts exchanges
  2. Support humanitarian assistance projects
  3. Offer youth and educational programs
  4. Stimulate economic and sustainable development
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Meet the Board of Directors

Our Board composition continues to grow, with Committee Chairs for all seven of our affiliates.   Our Officer slate for 2025 is as follows:  President Stephanie Fine, Vice President Robert Demler.  Our Committee Chairs are 1) Aswan/Inactive, 2) Chambolle-Musigny/Vacant, 3) Greve-in-Chianti/Vacant, 4) Kaniv/Kaeti Bailie, 5) Patzcuaro/Jocelyn Mondragon, 6) Penglai/Howard Eisenstark, and 7) Tokaj/ Sylvia Toth and Joan Toth (Co-Chairs).  Our other Board members are 1) Gigi Pfleger (Membership Chair), 2) Andrew Sorokowski (Director at Large), 3) and Monica Menco (Director at Large/Website Manager).

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Winery Intern Position: Apply Now

PRESS RELEASE January 30, 2026 Contact: Sylvia Toth Co-Chair Sonoma-Tokaj Sister City Committee (707) 938-0224 sonomatokajsistercities@gmail.com Sonoma-Tokaj Sister Cities Committee seeking Sonoma wine intern to work Wine Crush in [...]

Valentine’s Day Sock Hop & Spaghetti Feed

The Sonoma-Kaniv Sister City Committee is celebrating Valentine's Day with a Sock Hop/Spaghetti Feed.   Tickets are $40/person or $70/couple and can be purchased here: This event takes place on Saturday/14 [...]

Call for Volunteers!

Sonoma Sister Cities Association (SSCA) is seeking individuals to apply for two key roles on the SSCA board of directors. First is a new membership chair to sit on the [...]

Here’s the job description for SSCA Board Secretary.  Please contact SSCA President Stephanie Fine (see job description below) at if you are interested.

SSCA job description-secretary rev. 01.2026 (1)

Here’s the job description for SSCA Board Secretary.  Please contact SSCA President Stephanie Fine (see job description below) at if you are interested.

SSCA Membership chair job description rev. 01.2026 (1)

Please email your questions to president@sscasonoma.org.

Until further notice, the Sonoma-Aswan Committee is on inactive status.  Please address any questions or concerns to SSCA, using this link.