Former publisher of ‘New Mexican’ remembered as vibrant woman
Former Santa Fe New Mexican publisher Ginny Sohn, a key voice in the community for many years and fondly remembered for her devotion to family, friends and life itself, died Monday at The James Cancer Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
Sohn, 63, was surrounded by her family when she died, including her son, Sage Shahi.
Her friends recalled a vibrant woman who was an innovator, thinker, devoted mother, sister and daughter — in short, someone who knew how to live to the fullest, in the moment.
“That moment may have been working at the newspaper or being authentically engaged with someone,” said friend Lillian Montoya, chief operating officer at Christus St. Vincent Regional Medical Center.
Sohn worked at for 30 years, serving as advertising director, assistant general manager and associate publisher before being named publisher in 2012. During that time, former Associate Publisher Billie Blair
described her as “a cutting-edge, imaginative executive with a talent for seizing opportunities. … I never worked with anyone as creative.”
Under her leadership, the newspaper was named the New Mexico Press Association’s best large newspaper for three consecutive years.
She also brokered the sale of the Santa Fe Real Estate Association magazine to the newspaper, which became the monthly Homes; negotiated an agreement with the Southwestern Association for Indian Arts to have The New Mexican become the exclusive listing of artists for Indian Market; and created an advertising section promoting Santa Fe tourism that ran in the Dallas Morning News.
Along the way, she made many friends in Santa Fe, the city she deeply loved.
“She was my heart sister,” said international opera singer Gina Browning, who, along with her husband, Joseph Illick, is starting an endowed scholarship in Sohn’s name for high-achieving public school students. “She cared immensely about this community.”
Sohn served as president of the New Mexico Press Association in 2012, was a speaker and discussion leader at media association gatherings and had keen insights into the future of digital advertising and information. She was a tireless promoter of Santa Fe business, the newspaper and tourism, and served on the board of directors of the Santa Fe Chamber of Commerce.
Earlier in life, she took time off to meditate and teach English at an ashram in Nepal. Neighbors Judy and Brenda Brooks recalled her connection to Buddhist teachings and tolerance throughout her life.
“She had a smile that would light up a room, a contagious laugh and was the most compassionate person I have ever known,” said Judy Brooks, a frequent hiking companion on Aspen Vista Trail.
Diane Martinez, vice president of human resources and administration at Presbyterian Medical Services, was Sohn’s study partner at the University of Phoenix, where both earned degrees in business and management — both while working.
“She was a mom first and then a career woman,” Martinez said. “Sage meant the world to her.”
Sohn was born May 10, 1955, and grew up in the East and Midwest. She moved to Santa Fe, Browning remembers, to join her sisters who already were living here.
Her advertising career began in New York, where she was advertising and production manager for Bride’s Magazine, a Condé Nast publication.
She later led The New Mexican in producing a stable of awardwinning magazines, where she paid as much attention to the editorial content and inviting covers as to the advertising. She worked for a year for the Reno GazetteJournal in Nevada, but wanted to return to Santa Fe.
After leaving The New Mexican in 2014, she opened Sohn Media Consulting and worked with Albuquerque Publishing Co., among other clients, to advise in product development.
She read at least three print newspapers and kept informed on current events.
“There is something about touching and feeling paper,” she told her neighbors, and in her last conversation with friend and colleague Deborah Villa, director for magazines at The New Mexican, asked: “How’s the paper?”
Survivors include her son, Sage Shahi, a student at Montana State University; brother John Sohn of Portland, Ore; sisters Diane Burke and Florence Sohn of Santa Fe; and Carolyn Barrett of Columbus, Ohio. The family plans a private memorial at a later date.