Terry Willie-Surratt President/CEO
Terry Willie-Surratt is the President and CEO of One Step at a Time. A graduate of the Cincinnati College of Law, Mrs. Willie-Surratt also has a MSW in Social Work from the University of South Carolina, a BSW from NC Agricultural and Technical State University and a MBA with a concentration in Human Resources from Strayer University. Mrs. Willie-Surratt brings a commanding blend of legal, social and organizational development expertise. As a consultant, she has over 15 years of experience in developing community relations and partnerships, board development, personnel management, grant writing, project and grant management, fundraising and organizational infrastructure design. She has gained extensive experience in developing and implementing soft skills training designed to allow the participants to develop soft skills, abilities, and traits that they need to function in a work environment.
Dr. Sylvia Willie Burgess, Ph.D Senior Consultant/CFO
Sylvia W. Burgess is the Vice-President of Operations and Senior Partner with One Step at a Time Consulting Services where her focus is on leadership, diversity and inclusion and community engagement. Dr. Burgess is a facilitator of team training and professional development for team building through classroom and simulation activities, strategy, and self-improvement subject matters. She has over 18 years of experience in teaching, facilitation, development and curriculum design in leadership development, diversity and cultural competency, community engagement, team building and conflict resolution. Dr. Burgess is a published author in the areas of spiritual capital and community engagement. She is the co-editor and author of "Lead the Way: Principles and Practices in Community and Civic Engagement." Dr. Burgess received a BA in Speech and Language Pathology and MPA from University of North Carolina Greensboro.
She earned her Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from North Carolina A&T State University. She has proven leadership and senior management experience in business, operational management, and training with the Center for Creative Leadership. Dr. Burgess has served as an adjunct professor at North Carolina A&T State University in the Leadership Studies doctoral program where her expertise was dissertation writing. Dr. Burgess is an active member in the community serving in several service roles.
Dr. Forrest Toms, Ph.D Senior Consultant
In recent years, Dr. Forrest D. Toms formerly served as interim Executive Director for the State Conference of the NCNAACP. He worked with NCNAACP Executive Leadership to enhance and strengthen organizational capacity for civic/community engagement, statewide and locally. Dr. Toms is a former Associate Professor in the Leadership Studies Doctoral Program at NCA&T State University. His research was in the areas of leadership enhancement and development with faith-based institutions, the science of community engagement with African American leaders and communities and the development of research metrics related to engagement activities in underrepresented communities.
For the past twenty or more years Dr. Toms has held a national reputation for his systems approach, methods and processes related to diversity, cultural competency and community engagement. He has successfully designed, implemented and assessed
effective organizational change models for school systems, health and human service agencies, business/industry and community organizations, in North Carolina and nationally.
Specialities: Research and development in African American Leadership and Civic Community Engagement, Diversity /Cultural Competency Training, Train-the Trainer models, Organizational Development & Assessment, In-house Cultural Competency Training Modules, Leadership Development & Executive Education, Community Needs Assessment and Community Engagement Training.
Shantel Morris, MS Project Coordinator
Shantel Morris is the Project Coordinator with One Step At A Time Consulting. As the project coordinator, Shantel supports the Project Manager in gathering resources and information to implement upcoming projects. In her role Shantel coordinates with team members to keep workflow on track, as well as manage the teams’ goals and task for the success of the project.
Shantel earned her Masters Degree in School Counseling from Liberty University. Shantel is currently working as a part-time school counselor. She is a member of American School Counseling Association (ASCA) and the American Counseling Association. Shantel resides in Richmond, VA with her husband Yancey and son Bryce.