STRATEGIC TRANSITIONS CONSULTING
VALERIE KELLEY-BONNER,MBA, CPC-R
Valerie Kelley-Bonner is the founder of Strategies to Overcome Obstacles and Avoid Recidivism (SOOAR), a 501C3 nonprofit organization licensed by the Michigan Department of Community Health Substance Abuse Prevention Section and prevention services provider for the Detroit Wayne Mental health Authority. She is also the CEO and Lead Consultant of Strategic Transitions Consulting. For over 20 years she has been helping people reach their full potential through business development, mentoring, empowerment coaching, career development, behavior modification, and various life skills coaching programs. Her goal is to provide a level of service that will encourage, enlighten, and empower individuals to adopt the leadership behaviors required to divert life’s black hole and make informed choices for their lives.
On the surface, she is an extremely accomplished professional who rose through the ranks in the fields of science, engineering, and information technology for over 20 years. But if you scratch the surface, a woman who grew up in an environment that was a prescription for failure. Valerie faced many hardships. After exposure to drugs, alcohol, and molestation, she became very passionate about issues and problems impacting youth, their families, and mental health.
Valerie holds a Bachelor of Business Administration-Marketing and Master of Business Administration with an emphasis in Non-Profit Administration from Cleary University. She has worked in the fields of business, science, education, engineering, and information technology. She is a Certified Prevention Consultant (CPC-R) under the auspice of the Michigan Certification Board of Addiction Professionals, a Certified Trainer of several evidence-based prevention programs, and has several other certifications and different areas of expertise. She enjoyed volunteering her time for Kiwanis Club #1 of Detroit for 10 years and co-founded New Beginnings Charter School Academy in Ypsilanti Michigan and presiding over the Board of Directors for 17 years. Ms. Bonner currently volunteers on the board of the Metro Detroit Charter Center, Romulus Mayors Drug Task Force, and the Executive Board of the Belleville Downtown Development Authority.