Tommy Royston, Ph.D.
Senior Coach
Tommy has over 25 years’ experience working with nonprofit, public and private sector clients as an executive coach, trainer, and consultant, specializing in executive and leadership development. Dr. Royston provides leadership and executive coaching with Geffner Group, LLC. He also serves as Vice President of Strategy Development for Anavo Solutions, a California-based consulting agency that specializes in leadership development, executive coaching, and organizational change.
Previously, Dr. Royston managed and facilitated executive education programs through the University of Southern California’s Price School of Public Policy.
Tommy’s coaching philosophy is assets-based, working with coaching clients to identify and utilize their unique strengths as they seek to enhance their potential and growth goals. Dr. Royston is a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF) and is completing another certification program with an international ICF accredited program at the Hudson Institute of Coaching.
A native of the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Tennessee, Tommy held leadership positions in his home state as well as in Washington, D.C., prior to relocating to California in 2012. While in DC, he served as the Director of Operations, Training and Technical Assistance for the National Association of Community Health Centers (NACHC), a nonprofit membership association representing 8,000 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) across the U.S. Dr. Royston’s professional career began in public service working with the State of Tennessee.
Mr. Royston holds a Ph.D. in Social Justice Leadership from the University of San Diego. He received a master’s degree in education from George Mason University and an undergraduate degree in sociology at Randolph-Macon College. Tommy has served on several nonprofit boards and committees, including being a former board member and board secretary for a federally qualified community health center in Sacramento, California. His guilty pleasures include watching true crime documentaries, cuddling with his dogs, and attending state fairs throughout the U.S.
A partial list of coaching clients includes State of California Department of Social Services coaching for staffing classifications of Staff Services Manager I and II, Community Health Center leaders in Tennessee coaching for emerging and new leaders, State legislative staff from across the U.S. leadership coaching utilizing Myers Briggs Type Indicator Assessment, county behavioral health leaders in California coaching for mid-manager through assistant director level, and Los Angeles County coaching for MAPP eligible leaders across the county.