About Us
Our approach is unique
our attitude is encouraging, collaborative, and fun. Our experience brings insight and energy to critical issues and problem-solving sessions, workshops, retreats, and 360-degree feedback sessions. With proven methods and our innovative and imaginative combination of cool tools, we will help your organization discover new ways to improve its performance and practices.
Facilitation brings people and organizations together in their thinking. Whether your organization is nonprofit, for profit, philanthropic, or public sector, we’ll help you focus on the solutions that will help you achieve both positive and practical outcomes.
Bari S Johnson
As founder of and principal facilitator for The Stanton Group, Bari’s strategies have helped organizations to discover, grow, and meet their missions. With more than 30 years of experience behind her, she tailors projects to provide more than guidance to leaders and decision makers. Using her cool tools, she inspires participants to channel new ways of thinking into ideas that lead organizations to meaningful outcomes.
Bari is known as an enthusiastic and thought-provoking facilitator and speaker at state and national conferences. Her workshops focus on thinking differently–so organizations can act with intention. Her programs inspire participants with ideas that are provocative, can apply to Monday morning actions, and focus on results.
“Bari has the ability to understand where an organization is, helping that organization to develop a new reality. With excellent people skills, varied experience, confident leadership, and patience, she can lead an organization to a successful conclusion to the project. In the last year we’ve successfully changed our name, board and committee structure, board governance, goals, measures, and redefined our external and internal mission. We’ve changed our chamber from a reactionary to a proactive organization. None of those changes could have been accomplished without Bari’s input.”
Gordon Ritter
Former Chair of the Board
The Chamber of Commerce Grand Haven, Spring Lake, and Ferrysburg
Michigan
“When looking through some of my past class materials, I ran across two notebooks from classes instructed by Bari. My thought was that she would tell me I could do it–and so I did do it. Thanks for the courage!”
Barbara VanGelderen, CMA ES
Assessor
City of Saugatuck
Michigan
“Bari was able to lead our board of directors and staff through thought provoking exercises using her cool tools that broke down barriers. Her leadership made it possible for the board and staff to reach consensus on, not only our internal vision/mission statement but also, the development of our value statement and operating principals.
Bari’s energy, insight and imaginative approach to problem solving and her understanding of the responsibilities of leadership make her an excellent resource to facilitate the discovery of how small to mid-sized businesses and nonprofits can understand, assess and change their organization’s direction. Her high-energy interactive style encourages involvement by all participants. As an end result, the work product has buy-in from those involved and is easily understood by those who were not.”
Joy Gaasch
President
The Chamber of Commerce Grand Haven, Spring Lake, and Ferrysburg
Michigan
“Bari’s ideas are most intriguing and very much in synch with where the foundation is moving. Her work with us helped us grow, and it brought our organization’s focus to our mission. Bari is masterful at working with key stakeholders in our community to ascertain emerging opportunities. Her work in this regard is integral to helping the foundation plan community investment. Facilitation was exactly what we needed to get us on the road to discovery and foster growth.”
Libby Cherin
President
Fremont Area Community Foundation
Michigan