Sona Software was founded in 2008 by Dr. Curtis Ford to provide high-quality tools for language learners.

Dr. Ford holds a Ph.D. in Slavic linguistics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and has taught Russian to American university students for over ten years. A devoted language learner himself, he has put in about 25 person-years studying Russian, German, Czech, Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian, Bulgarian, Spanish, Dutch, Finnish, French, Hindi, and Irish.

Dr. Ford currently teaches Russian and linguistics at the University of South Carolina. In his spare time he tries to keep up with children Ellie, Lily, and Brendon, and listens to Raidió na Gaeltachta and Эхо Москвы.