The Rammys is the Rancho Mirage Chamber of Commerce Outstanding Business Awards & Installation Dinner where we honor our outstanding local businesses, non profit organizations and dignitaries. Also at this event we will be installing our new board of directors and recognizing our outgoing board. Please RSVP and register online at: https://ranchomiragechamber.org/advertising-event-reservations/
Sonny Von Cleveland is a motivational speaker, coach, and author passionate about sharing his history and experiences of sexual abuse and incarceration to aid in the healing of others. He is an ardent advocate for fearlessly and authentically owning one’s story to rise and choose growth from adversity.
He advocates for this because for five years, throughout his childhood, he was the victim of sexual molestation and violence from multiple men, and, not knowing how to deal with the trauma, he repeatedly saw himself in trouble with law enforcement, which eventually saw him incarcerated at age sixteen for eighteen years.
He resigned himself to a life of incarceration and gang life until a pivotal moment changed his life. In his late 20s, he was sent to solitary confinement, and while there, he met a Muslim man who changed his life. Over the next nineteen months, through this man’s tutelage, Sonny transformed his life by learning the power of forgiveness and letting go of the past, as well as extensive self-examination and personal growth. He owes the mindset and extensive self-awareness skills he holds today to the 14,000-plus hours of personal development he garnered during his time in solitary confinement, and he now uses his transformation to aid and inspire others.
Beyond this, Sonny founded The Von Cleveland Foundation, a nonprofit offering complimentary coaching, resources, and a nurturing environment for learning. Central to the foundation’s ethos is transforming mindsets, catalyzing a shift from doubt to belief and from adversity to achievement.
In his partnership with the Riverside County Probation Department, Sonny is a newly appointed member of JJCC Ad-Hoc Advisory Committee, the first of its kind regarding structure and intent to facilitate programming for system impacted youth in Riverside County.
Sonny is also an anti-bullying advocate for Boo2Bullying, a youth development and suicide prevention organization, and is a regular speaker and mentor to disenfranchised youth in juvenile facilities in Southern California. Furthermore, he is a re-entry coach and activist for the Anti-Recidivism Collation in Los Angeles. He lives in Palm Springs, California, with his wife, Claire, their dog Sophie Grace and their felines, Luna and Puma.
Achievements:
2023 Community Catalyst Award Winner from We Are One United
2023 Palm Springs Person Of The Year Award Winner
