About

SOMO is a dynamic and socially-constructed positive intervention. It changes as we move along.

SOMO has remained an intentional effort to bring the science of success, well-being, & happiness to professional & social networks around Cleveland, Ohio + beyond for building an individual’s psychological, SOcial, & eMOtional muscle leading to organizational, familial, community, and ultimately city-wide optimal functioning & flourishing. It’s leadership development and wellness at all levels.

Social-Emotional Leadership (SOMO) was designed as a framework for how communities flourish by Louis Alloro, M.Ed., MAPP as part of his graduate work in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania. Louis is one of the first 100 people in the world to have this degree.

Not long thereafter, SOMO was birthed in Cleveland, Ohio when Louis came to visit his best friend’s family and had a visceral sense that positive psychology would work really well here. Then, in August of 2009, he met his first partner in SOMO CLE, Adele DiMarco-Kious, They met at the first Sustainable Cleveland 2019 summit (David Cooperrider, the facilitator, was one of his profs at Penn and invited him to participate). Adele and Louis met literally at the eleventh hour as they were sweeping the floors at the convention center, and the two knew that they were onto something BIG for Cleveland and beyond.

Illustrated by a participant in a learning lab, Toronto, Canada, July 2012

What’s that something? To find and leverage the Social-Emotional (SOMO) Leaders around town, those who share a vision for a more positive future. SOMO Leaders already exists as change-agents within their networks. Our task is to find them and invite them into our Learning Labs, aka the mind gym, for a workout, where we’re all learning to build a new muscle to think differently. 

Essentially, SOMO Leaders are willing and interested in leading change in their lives and communities, starting with themselves first. Those who accept the invitation will be supported to discover and develop their strengths and given tools to think differently and to grow new connections which lead to increased individual and community-wide success, happiness, and well-being.

To date, we have reached over 1,000 Clevelanders in our Labs. We’ve had coverage in the Plain Dealer and Freshwater Cleveland. We’ve partnered with some key people and organizations, including George Mason University’s Center for Consciousness & Transformation who is interested in measuring the effect of change through peoples’ social networks, something that’s never been done before.

We’re building the bridge as we walk on it — co-creating as we go — walking the talk — believing that positive and sustainable change is possible.

So, imagine a Cleveland that is vibrant and bustling with life, with grass roots efforts activating city-wide change-agents who share knowledge and help build strong relationships within our community. People who are happy and healthy manifest positive self-growth and help others to be successful in this 21st century global economy. We envision a city that is recruiting, supporting, and retaining participatory citizens and industries.

Can you see it? We can too!

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