Sonya Violette, a native of Riverside, CA, brings a diverse background to The Shea Center. Before joining the organization, she spent over a decade as a preschool and kindergarten teacher and also owned a successful mortgage company.

Sonya’s journey with The Shea Center began as a volunteer. After just three days, she realized she wanted to become a therapeutic riding instructor—a role that perfectly combined her love for horses with her passion for helping individuals with disabilities. After four years as an instructor, she transitioned to the development team, focusing on fundraising for program services. Despite this shift, Sonya continued teaching Michael Lewis, The Shea Center’s first client, for many years.

A highlight of her career is Drive to Ride, a grassroots online fundraiser she developed from scratch. Over the past 15 years, the campaign has engaged new volunteers, board members, and donors and raised more than $2 million for The Shea Center. Sonya reflects, “Sharing success stories of our clients and educating others about what we do is so important. It allows me to directly impact our clients and their families.”

Sonya has been with The Shea Center for 19 years and continues to bring energy and dedication to her work. In her free time, she enjoys walking her dogs, teaching her budgies to talk, and horseback riding with friends.