about

I love what I do. It has never been ‘just a job’ to me and, for that, I am thoroughly grateful. I was raised in rural Oklahoma. For the past twenty-seven years Chicago has been home. I recently relocated to New York’s Hudson Valley.


My work has taken me throughout the United States and Canada and to England, and Austria. I work with local, regional, national, and international client-partners. They are individuals, groups, and organizations spanning the fields of education, business, healthcare, social service, association leadership, and ministry.

a few details from my travelougue


In 1998 — with only a desktop computer (the size of a small refrigerator), an aol email account, and a voicemail service connected to a pager (yes, I said pager) — I began working with client-parters in earnest. (Oh, and there was also a three-page business plan, well, kinda).


Two of my early professional intentions were: (1.) to take on as many different kinds of projects as possible and (2.) to work with as many different kinds of people and organizations as possible. 


These initial intentions — coupled with an insatiable curiosity and my desire to stretch, explore, and grow — fueled many adventures.


There have been keynotes, retreats, seminars, classes, planning processes, annual meetings, conflict resolution interventions, change management initiatives, workshops, clinics, team building excursions, and train-the-trainer programs. 


I have worked in hotel conference spaces, corporate training facilities, campgrounds, campuses, hostels, retreat centers, convention halls, and virtual meeting spaces. I think the most peculiar location was a nuclear power plant where I had to wear a radiation detection badge during my presentations.


There have been large audiences, small working groups, and one-on-one coaching sessions.  


I have worked with supervisors and team leads, customer service and hospitality professionals, C-suite executives, sales professionals, students, educators, nurses, doctors, administrators, housekeepers, factory workers, ministers, community organizers, and volunteers.


I think my most complex, stand alone, project was a facilitation gig: two days — 72 people representing 32 countries — very difficult decisions with widespread implications — all sessions conducted in four language groups (Arabic, English, French, Spanish). It was good. It was challenging. I was completely wiped-out by the end. 


In addition to working with client-partners, I also engaged two concurrent gigs and several side gigs. My concurrent gigs were, each, roughly two-year engagements: (1.) serving as the programs and education director for the world’s fourth largest youth hostel, and (2.) serving as a director of learning and development for a multinational corporation. My side gigs included stints as an adjunct college professor, an adjunct career consultant, an adjunct sexual harassment prevention consultant, and a college chaplain-in-residence.  


If you made it this far, you may be interested in my education and my experiences in the classroom. I hold a Bachelors degree in Communication from Oklahoma State University and a Masters of Arts degree focused in Organizational Development and Multiculturalism from DePaul University. The bulk of my teaching experience was in the Department of History, Humanities, and Social Sciences at Columbia College Chicago. Among my favorite classes were: Social Problems in American Society, Race and Ethnic Relations, and World Religions.


One of the best parts of my work is that I am always learning. 


Here are three of my  right-now lessons: 


Nothing needs to be wasted. Each person and every experience has either a gift or a lesson for us (occasionally both). Our job is to find them. Sometimes this can be a difficult job, but it is worth it. 


People generally do the best they can with the resources they have. Resources include material supplies, skills, abilities, and knowledge. They also include beliefs, vision, support, and love.


Help is always on the way. Sometimes we need the help and sometimes we are the help. 


Nearly a quarter-century of working with client-partners and, through it all, my commitment remains the same: to work with more people doing more good concerning the things that matter most. 


Here's is how people describe my work


Toby Causby is incredibly adept at facilitating diverse perspectives and personalities through enlightening and, often times, difficult sessions.


He successfully draws leaders and line employees into highly impactful discussions and thought processes that result in engaging learning opportunities.


Toby seeks to understand the nature of the business and the needs of the participant population; he aligns his approach to optimize his impact on both. I strongly recommend Toby Causby.


Chief Human Resources Officer (Corporate)



Toby Causby is one of the most fun and dynamic people I have had the pleasure to hire for consulting work.  I hired him to do a leadership and staff evaluation of my management team for a hospitality company in NYC. 


Toby is an excellent public speaker and presenter.  He prepares engaging material and has a style that keeps people wanting to hear more. He is quick with the smile and at the same time not afraid to ask the difficult question. 


I think he also possesses the rare skill of really listening to participants in his work. This proves itself out in materials that he customizes for the situation at hand. 


I have benefited greatly from Toby’s insight into my own leadership skills. You will be  impressed with Toby’s work ethic. It is very apparent he thoroughly enjoys doing his work.


CEO (Hospitality) 



Toby is a difference-maker in the way that he has approached the coaching of leaders throughout my organization. With customized interventions paired alongside a repository of tried and true thought-and-discussion starters, Toby is nimble in his coaching style and is able to pivot with input he receives. 


His ability to listen deeply allows for getting to the heart of the matter, and provides space to be vulnerable and open. 


Assistant Vice President (Higher Education)



His work on the planning, design and execution of retreats, meetings and leadership trainings was a process I enjoyed and learned from while being completely pleased with the results for my group. 


I highly recommend him for the facilitation of any group looking to grow in their understanding of a variety of topics and their own process for working together.


Toby is collaborative, creative, flexible, caring and an excellent presenter. My groups were thoroughly engaged and transformed in their work with him.


Associate Pastor (Congregational Leadership)



I have engaged Toby’s professional services for over two decades. 


When I need a strategic planning meeting, a staff retreat, or a keynote speaker, I want to both engage my team and achieve robust, effective outcomes. Toby delivers both. 


In addition, I leverage Toby as a go-to coach. He helps me reflect, uncover and discover blind spots, and distinguish between stories I may be telling myself and the facts as I know them. 


Toby is an engaging thought- partner. When I am considering a shift in mission or a program augmentation, I run my ideas by Toby. I end up laughing. I end up energized. I end up ready to take action. 

 

Organizational Executive (Foundation) 



Toby facilitated two retreats – one for our staff and one for our Board of Directors.  At the end of both retreats, our organization had clear plans of action, including specific “to-do lists” with who was responsible for what.  We literally were able to appropriately modify out-of-date policies because of a single day with Toby, which improved the way we do business.


I would recommend Toby without hesitation.  He made discussing otherwise uncomfortable topics not only bearable but beneficial with his use of appropriate humor and by creation of a safe space. 


Toby has a gift of helping cut through to the heart of a matter by taking risks in reflecting participants’ points of view back to the group. More often than not, he was right on and said it in a way that helped move the conversation along, and also helped colleagues really hear each other, sometimes in ways they had never experienced before.


Executive Director (Social Service)



Some of the organizations that have worked with Toby


[do to the sensitive nature of some of my work, I do not list all client-partners]


AidsCare, Inc.


American Association of Nurse Anesthetists (AANA)


Arkansas Tech University


Association of College and University Housing Officers-International (ACUHO-I) 


Association of Campus Activities Administrators (ACAA)


Barat College


Chicago Area Small College Housing Association


Chicago Cares   


College of St. Benedict  


Columbia College Chicago 


Communities in Schools of Chicago


Congregation of the Mission  


Cook County Clerk’s Office 


CURE Epilepsy   


DePaul University  


DeVry University – Chicago   


Dominican University  


Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA)  


Fort Hays State University


The Haight Ashbury Food Program (HAFP)  


Hamilton County Developmental Disabilities Services (Hamilton County Board MR/DD)


Harper College  


Horizons Community Services  


Hostelling International-American Youth Hostels  HI-USA   


Hostelling International-Chicago  


Hostelling International-New York   


Howard Brown Health Center 


HUB International Midwest-East Limited


Huron Valley Council for the Arts


Illinois Community College Student Activities Association (ICCSAA)


Illinois Institute of Technology


International Youth Hostel Federation (IYHF)


Inver Hills Community College


Joie de Vivre Hospitality   


Joliet Junior College   


Lake Forrest College   


LEAP innovations    


McKendree College   


Milwaukee School of Engineering  


National Conference for Student Services 


Nebraska Wesleyan University 


New Trier High School 


New York University 


North Dakota State Housing Officers 


Northwestern University 


Not In My Name


Oakton Community College


Oklahoma State University  


Paper-Clip Communication


Ridge Lawn Public School


Ripon College


Rockland School


Roosevelt University


Salt Lake Community College


Sarah's Inn


Simon Youth Foundation


Slippery Rock University


Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville


South Suburban College


Southwestern Illinois College


St. Vincent de Paul Parish 


University Center - Chicago 


University of Central Arkansas


University of Central Oklahoma


University of Chicago


University of Illinois at Chicago


University of Indiana


University of Maryland


University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire


University of Wisconsin Oshkosh


University of Wisconsin - River Falls


United Way of America


Upper Midwest Region Association of College and University Housing Officers [UMR ACUHO]


Urban Village Church


Waubonsee Community College


Winnetka Congregational Church


Wisconsin College Personnel Association [WCPA]


Working Partnerships / Women Employed


Yoga Behind Bars

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