About
Founded in 2021, Onward Consulting seeks to move communities and individuals onward in their goals using innovative strategies and practices. Rikki Barton, Onward’s Founder/Lead Consultant, has worked in the prevention field for 13+ years and, during that time, identified the need for further professional development and retention among her colleagues. The prevention field is often a stepping stone to another job/career, but Rikki has a passion for building up the workforce, developing leaders, increasing retention, and empowering youth.
Successful Projects
History of successful
federal grant writing
SAMHSA's Partnerships
for Success grant evaluation project with the Mid-America PTTC Region 7
Prevention professional development coursework
(in progress)
Professional Boards/Certifications
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International Certification & Reciprocity Consortium (IC&RC) Certified
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Missouri Advanced Prevention Specialist (MAPS)
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Missouri Substance Use Prevention Network Member
Rikki serves as the Chair of the Stand Against Trafficking Coalition, a community-based, volunteer-run organization that seeks to end human trafficking in the Ozarks through education, training, and collaboration with key partners. The fight to end human trafficking has been Rikki’s passion for 15 years and she has been a volunteer member of Stand Against Trafficking Coalition since it began in 2012. She was involved as a coalition member and helped consult/guide the leadership team for 9 years and then was nominated for the role of Chair in 2021.
In her volunteer role as Chair, she leads the monthly coalition and leadership team meetings, enhances the organizational structure, offers quarterly community education events, creates awareness media campaigns, co-hosts law enforcement training with Missouri State Highway Patrol, and builds relationships with key stakeholders in the community (including law enforcement, legislators, and schools). Anyone in the local community is invited to join Stand's efforts. Learn more about Stand here.
Rikki Barton
Founder & Lead Consultant
Rikki Barton has a passion for communicating essential messages to move individuals and communities onward in their goals. She is the Founder/Lead Consultant of Onward Consulting and holds the Missouri Advanced Prevention Specialist certification and international IC&RC certification. She has 13 years of prevention field experience and currently serves as a consultant to assist organizations, coalitions, and state/federal agencies in the areas of substance use prevention, suicide prevention, and mental health promotion. She has extensive experience working with community coalitions, providing training, grant writing, managing funding sources, and leading a team of preventionists.
In her free time, she loves to be active in nature with her dog and travel to adventurous places.
