WHAT: Creative Strategy & Organizational Development

A Place To Be, a non-profit organization, delivers creative, people-centered consulting services that help organizations thrive in today’s rapidly changing world. Rooted in the belief that creativity is a powerful solution to complex challenges, our work equips leaders, teams, and communities to move forward with clarity, confidence, and purpose.

A Place To Be partners with clients to turn creativity into a powerful driver of impact. We provide consulting, coaching, and facilitation that help leaders and teams navigate change, solve complex challenges, and thrive in today’s fast-evolving environment.

Our services include creative strategy and innovation, leadership and team development, organizational change, workforce and community training, and program design.

Our team’s experience spans education, corporate, nonprofit, government, and arts sectors across the U.S., Africa, and Europe. A Place To Be brings clarity, energy, and practical solutions to organizations ready to grow with purpose.

HOW: Our Consulting & Facilitation Services

Creative Strategy & Innovation
We help organizations unlock new ways of thinking to solve business and community challenges. Our approach blends creative processes with strategic planning to generate fresh, actionable solutions.

Leadership & Team Development
Through dynamic coaching and facilitation, we strengthen leadership capacity, improve collaboration, and energize teams to adapt and lead through change.

Organizational Change & Capacity Building
We support organizations through periods of transition—aligning people, processes, and purpose to meet the demands of today’s technological, social, and funding shifts.

Workforce & Community Training
From corporate teams to community leaders, we design and deliver training that builds confidence, skills, collaboration, and resilience across sectors.

Program Design & Grant Readiness
We help organizations clarify their vision, develop strong programs, and align strategy and outcomes to meet their funding goals.

WHO: A Place To Be team has supported:

• Fortune 500 companies, small businesses and startups
• Non-profits and community organizations
• Government agencies
• Schools and educational institutions
• Arts and cultural institutions

Consulting Experience

A Place To Be began consulting with organizations in 2024, building on the decades-long consulting experience of its founder, Dr. Byron Johns (DBJ). He is also retained by other consultant groups and organizations to provide consulting practices across organizational development, leadership training, facilitation, and equity-focused initiatives.

Over the past two years, the Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services contracted with A Place To Be to deliver White Supremacy and Equity Training for its Management Team.  Dr. Johns also was selected to serve on the Community Workgroup that implemented the Black Community Health Strengths and Needs Assessment, contributing to community-informed public health and equity strategies.

Collectively, APTB, Dr. Johns, his team bring experience consulting with public agencies, nonprofits, and community-based organizations at local, national, and international levels, blending systems thinking, anti-racist practice, and community-rooted approaches to support sustainable, mission-aligned change.

Selected Clients & Partners

Public Sector

• The AMAAD Institute - Development of the Community Health Worker Curriculum
• University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Center for Oral History Research Served as Oral Histories Interviewer for Black LGBT Project – 23 Interviews 
• Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services — Equity and anti-racism training; leadership facilitation
• Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Violence and Anti-Black
• Racism Workgroup – DEI, facilitation, Leadership Development
• The Seattle Museum of Flight – DEI, Leadership Development Staff and Diversity Council
• First 5 LA – Best Start West Athens Initiative — Systems change, community engagement, and leadership development
• Girls Club of Los Angeles — Program development, facilitation, and community centered implementation
• Fusion Academy – DEI Training
• New York City Public Schools — Conflict resolution, facilitation, curriculum development and culture change initiatives
• International Committee of the Red Cross (Nairobi, Kenya) — Training, facilitation Conflict Management, and organizational development
• Board member of 100 Black Men of Long Beach – Strategic Planning, Development and Marketing Support
• The Downtown Residential Council – Leadership Development

 Private Sector

• Brandjump – DEI Training
• Dexcom – DEI Training, Leadership Development, International Delivery
• Encore – Leadership Development
• Diversity Research and Consulting Group – Collaborative strategic planning and facilitating a Well-Being for First Responders and Their Families symposium
• First Entertainment Credit Union – Leadership Development, Effective Communication
• Foothill Credit Union – DEI Training, Leadership Development, Culture Change
• Long Beach HOA past President and Board Member – Facilitation and Community Organizing
• Ogilvy & Mather (Nairobi, Kenya) — Training, facilitation, Conflict Management, and organizational development
• Landmark Education Corporation – Served as a course supervisor, leading teams to facilitate the deliveries of courses with up to 800 participants (in NYC, Amsterdam, Holland, and Nairobi, Kenya) 

Dr. Byron Johns (DBJ) is also the co-creator of the 90 Day Enhancement, a coaching framework that supports individuals and leaders in accelerating project development and implementation.

Dr. Johns holds a Doctorate in Psychology with a concentration in Organizational Management and Consulting, a Master’s Degree in Performing Arts Management, and a Bachelor’s Degree in Rhetoric and Communications.