Name: Rhonda Cleaves
Date and Place of Birth: Houston. My husband likes to say that I was born before men landed on the moon (a whole 2 weeks).
Family: A kind and generous husband, 2 very sports-oriented teenagers – a son and a daughter, and a loveable chocolate lab who doesn’t get nearly as much attention as she should.
Education: B.A. from Stephen F. Austin State University, J.D. from University of Texas School of Law; graduate studies at Escuela Libre de Derecho in Mexico City
Firm Name: Cleaves Family Law
Member of Collaborative Divorce Texas since: 2006
I started practicing Collaboratively because: As I child of divorce, I loved from the outset that the collaborative process offers a better path for divorcing couples to be better parents for their children.
What I like best about this job: The pleasant surprise it creates in so many when they learn that there are attorneys who help people divorce in a civil and kind way.
My hobbies are: Running, reading, traveling, watching my kids play sports (a lot)
My last meal would consist of: Ribs that my husband cooks on the Big Green Egg.
My favorite restaurant is: don’t know
The most interesting thing I have ever done is: lived in Mexico for a year
The greatest influence of my life has been: living abroad
I drive a: something with 4 wheels
I wish I drove a: Volkswagen Bus (and yes, they are finally coming out with a new model)
I am currently reading: Beartown and Hamilton
Favorite book: too many
Favorite song: no clue
Favorite band/musician: Dave Matthews Band
4 Fantasy dinner guests – (living or dead): John Oliver, Anne Frank, Katherine Johnson, Abraham Lincoln
Favorite quote: We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them. – Albert Einstein
My friends say my greatest asset is: my loyalty and my persistence
The most important advice I could give a teenager is: Take some time off before you start adulting and experience the world. The work will be there when you get back.
