Meet Lauren Willner, PhD
Founder of Just Change Solutions
I founded Just Change Solutions to offer human service organizations an alternative to traditional non profit consulting options. As an expert in organizational dynamics and human service organizations, I know that a one-size-fits-all approach to organizational change doesn't work. I understand that the only constant in human service organizations is change. I approach change from this perspective. I help organizations identify core issues so we can get to the heart of the heart of the problem.
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion efforts can be an important starting point. But too often these efforts wind up falling short. They fail to address the deeper, systemic realities organizations face around issues of inequity, oppression, and justice. I have seen many organizations adopt DEI principles to strengthen culture and climate, yet continue to struggle with persistent patterns of racism and inequity. Just Change Solutions exists to meet that gap.
Through strategic culture change grounded in equity and justice practices, Just Change Solutions partners with organizations to identify core organizational values to help build and sustain cultures that meaningfully respond to systemic oppression. Together, we move beyond statements and trainings toward lasting, structural change.
I’m a practitioner-scholar at heart. I do research because I want to understand what actually helps organizations change, especially in human service settings where equity and outcomes matter. Research helps me stay focused on what works—not just what’s popular—when it comes to equity and organizational change. I bring that learning into my consulting and professional development, translating evidence into practical tools teams can use.
I graduated from UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs with a PhD in Social Welfare. I got my MSW from the University of Pennsylvania and my bachelor's degree from NYU's Gallatin School of Individualized Study. I am a born and raised New Yorker, but after 15 years on the West Coast, I now call California home.
My research focuses on nonprofit and human service organizations, specifically how they operate and what gets in the way of achieving social justice and social change outcomes. I study the tension between mission-driven work and the business pressures that are increasingly shaping how organizations function. This research informs everything I do at Just Change Solutions. When I work with organizations, I'm not guessing at what the problems are. I've spent years studying them.