Our Collaborators

The Greater Us works with a skilled network of collaborators, including (but not limited to) the individuals below. Most are trained in the VISIONS model, and many are clinicians with experience in mental health or therapeutic practice.

Ellen F. Morrison, LCSW

Ellen Morrison is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, mediator, and consultant specializing in anti-racism and racial healing work. With over thirty years of experience in community mental health and systems change, Ellen partners with individuals and organizations to catalyze equity-centered transformation. Her work is grounded in a deep analysis of power as a core element of interpersonal and organizational change, and it is continually shaped by her own intentional journey in understanding power, privilege, and accountability.

Ellen’s consultancy draws inspiration from a lineage of social movements and integrates a trauma-informed, relational approach that centers emotional wisdom as a transformative force in DEIB and justice work. Known for her skillful and creative facilitation, she designs and leads change processes that engage multiple intelligences, uplift restorative practices, and incorporate popular education pedagogy to create experiential learning environments.

In addition to her facilitation and consulting work, Ellen is a community artist. She has led community mural projects, political poster making and other creative processes fostering change, bringing her artist spirit into the heart of her organizing and educational practices. A dedicated martial artist and self-defense instructor, Ellen is also an active member of SURJ Bay Area. She finds joy in painting, regenerates at the ocean’s edge, and treasures time with her chosen and given family.

Dr. Haley Sparks is a psychologist, social worker, facilitator, and coach specializing in the skills of human engagement. She serves as the Director of Community and Organizational Development in the External Affairs division at UCLA, where her work advances inclusive practices, organizational well-being, and community-centered leadership across institutional and civic spaces. She also founded Ease and Enjoyment Coaching, through which she helps high-achieving Black people prioritize ease, peace, pleasure, and joy in all aspects of their lives.

Drawing on her background in mental health, coaching, and applied research, Haley supports individuals and teams in aligning purpose, care, and sustainable impact — fostering cultures rooted in connection, joy, and collective flourishing. She has guided teams domestically and internationally on sustainable emotional strategies, self-awareness, and healthy communication across difference, with particular attention to skills of human engagement such as empathy, curiosity, and care.

Haley's facilitation practice is grounded in years of clinical experience as a therapist working with individuals, couples, families, and groups, as well as in leadership roles at the University of Michigan and the Women's Center of Southeast Michigan. Haley holds a PhD in Personality and Social Contexts Psychology and a Master of Social Work, both from the University of Michigan.

Haley Sparks, PhD, MSW

Dr. John Capitman is a social psychologist with decades of experience in assessment, coaching, and consulting with organizations on issues of race, ethnicity, gender, and equity. As a co-founder of VISIONS he helped develop the modern racism theory that sits at the heart of the VISIONS model, and his work has long examined how public policies and practitioner decisions create and sustain inequalities in health and well-being.

As a consultant and researcher, John has worked across sectors to help institutions understand and address the structural and relational dynamics that drive inequitable outcomes, drawing on tools including organizational assessment, leadership coaching, and long-term culture change. He is Emeritus Professor of Public Health at California State University, Fresno, where he served as Executive Director of the Central Valley Health Policy Institute. His academic research covers long-term care, community health worker roles, adolescent risk behavior, maternal and child health, and the health impacts of environmental pollution in California's San Joaquin Valley. His research is oriented toward the same core question: how it is that systems produce disparate outcomes, and what it takes to change them.

Before joining CSU Fresno, John spent nearly two decades at the Schneider Institute for Health Policy at Brandeis University's Heller School for Social Policy and Management. He earned his doctorate in Social Psychology from Duke University and his BA from Yale.

John Amson Capitman, PhD

Cecil William Jacobs is a seasoned human resources, labour relations, and executive development specialist with nearly 30 years of experience spanning the public sector, private consulting, and international practice. Born and raised in Athlone, Cape Town, he has built a distinguished career at the intersection of diversity, equity, organisational transformation, and labour law. Trained in the VISIONS model with Julian P. Sonn & Associates, Cecil has facilitated over 100 diversity and employment equity workshops across South Africa and the United States, working with organisations including SAPS, Technicon SA (UNISA), the City of Tshwane, Proctor & Gamble (Cincinnati), and students at Boston University. His facilitation work has also reached public audiences in North Carolina and Cambridge, Massachusetts.

At the heart of his career is deep, hands-on expertise in labour relations — having served as a negotiator and employer representative at both the Public Service Coordinating Bargaining Council (PSCBC) and the Safety and Security Sectoral Bargaining Council (SSSBC), appeared as a witness in Labour Court proceedings, and played a key role in drafting the SAPS Disciplinary Regulations. He led the national implementation of Affirmative Action programmes within SAPS and managed a R30 million transformation fund. His executive training includes programmes at the University of Stellenbosch Business School, the African Institute for Mentoring, and the International Labor Organization in Turin, Italy. Cecil holds a National Higher Diploma in Human Rights, Intercultural Studies and Communication. He is currently an independent consultant based in Cape Town.

Cecil W. Jacobs