We had the good fortune of connecting with Greer Consulting Dr. Marissiko Wheaton-Greer and Vince Greer and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Greer Consulting, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
Before getting married, we initially met as colleagues — both working in the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion space. Each of us has a strong passion for addressing inequities and creating spaces where people of all identities and backgrounds can thrive. Before creating a shared business, we each had our own set of clients. As independent consultants, we facilitated similar work and at times when we collaborated on projects, it was just so easy. Working together is really natural for us since we speak the same language and both began our careers in higher education/academia.

In addition, our values are precisely aligned and our presentation styles are really complimentary of one another. We knew it only made sense for us to join forces and begin our own consulting business. We knew that together, we would be able to accomplish so much more.

Our consulting partnership strives to help individuals and organizations make their goals a reality by cultivating a more meaningful and inclusive workplace experience for every team member. We provide comprehensive guided coaching, facilitated training and workshops, as well as assessment for schools, districts, nonprofits, corporate businesses and more.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Greer Consulting is a partnership that strives to help individuals and organizations make their goals a reality by cultivating a more meaningful and inclusive workplace experiences. We provide comprehensive guided coaching to executive leaders and managers, facilitated training and workshops for large and small audiences, as well as assessment for schools, districts, nonprofits, corporate businesses and more.

Each of us as consultants overlapping and unique skill-sets which contribute to our range of offerings. Dr. Marissiko Wheaton-Greer is a researcher by training and completed her Ph.D. in Urban Education Policy. She has extensive experience teaching courses on issues of race, class, gender and inequality. Furthermore, she regularly conducts both qualitative and quantitive assessments for organizations seeking to unearth climate/culture issues among employees or recruitment of new staff and clientele. As a senior executive leader himself, Vince Greer provides executive coaching to leaders and managers. In addition, as the former inaugural Director of an equity center — Vince has expertise in organizational change and strategic planning. Facilitating difficult dialogue has been a core aspect of this work when engaging in qualitative assessment, executive coaching and professional mediation efforts. Combined — we provide a comprehensive skill-set that supports organizations ability to enhance diversity and inclusion policies.

Throughout the years of conducting this work — we have learned to meet people where they are and support them in their lifelong journey of learning. We have a non-judgmental approach because we understand that these conversations are not easy for everyone, based on individual life experiences and backgrounds. That said, there are certainly challenges that we confront as it relates to peoples varying levels of value for this work. But we truly enjoy the process and reward of growing with our audiences.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We love this question because we are from such different cities but we both enjoy a good vibe centering community. Vince was born and raised on the Southside of Chicago and Marissiko is from South Central Los Angeles. Marissiko is really close to her family and Vince’s friends and family from Chicago often visit us, so we are always hosting in our home playing grill master and bartender. But we also love offering recommendations to local places and events that are outside of the typical tourist scene.

On any given day, we always recommend Crenshaw Juice Company — a juice cart situated in Crenshaw Square. Since we live right outside of LA, whenever we are passing through the city to see family or friends we go to Simply Wholesome for patties and fresh smoothies and while we’re waiting, we put in an order at Sachi for delicious and healthy Japanese food. On Sundays, we love going to our church, Oasis LA and afterwards we usually have brunch with friends at Cassells or Opennaire. In terms of fun things to do, we enjoy women’s basketball, so we often do date nights with dinner and a Sparks game. Sunset pontoon boat rides in Newport beach is one of our favorite outings, especially now with our baby. We also love a good bike ride and hike at the Claremont Loop, Griffith or Eaton Canyon. Vince is a DJ (DJ BIG Mobile) and he frequently spins at local parties or corporate events and invites friends which is always a good time. For our out of town friends, we LOVE recommending that they schedule an outdoor picnic with Picnics in LA. Their team offers luxury picnic experiences which are amazing.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
As professionals who began our careers in higher education/academia, we want to give credit the field of education and all of the many incredible colleagues throughout the years who have sharpened our toolkits and understanding of deep issues impacting individuals and communities from marginalized backgrounds. Our professional village has continued to help keep us abreast of best practices, being creative thought-partners and constantly reinventing new approaches to addressing issues of diversity, equity and inclusion.

We truly value community and have deep connections in multiple villages, including family, close friends, our alma maters, our church home, etc — each pour into us personally, professionally and spiritually. Having a diverse circle of friends who also champion these issues across industries, has helped us to develop greater awareness for how our work remains necessary across all spaces. Lastly, we want to thank Rolando Talbott a friend in the DEI space as well who nominated us for this shoutout!

Website: greerconsulting.org

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greer-consulting?trk=similar-pages

Image Credits
Greer consulting professional shots: Christine Ta | For Love and Light Photography

Nominate Someone: ShoutoutLA is built on recommendations and shoutouts from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems, so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.