Brett Stokes

Principal Consultant had become available with her now firm, 5P Consulting. “Without even thinking twice we both knew it would be a perfect fit. We have been working hand-in-hand ever since.” Now Donna is a Managing Partner and Fractional CIO with 5P Consulting.

Having had the pleasure of getting to know both of these amazing women it is instantly apparent that they make an incredible team. “We have become family now. It's not just a business that provides a much-needed service; we are all here for each other. If I am having a bad day, I can call Y’vonne or one of the other teammates and vice versa. I've been at 5P consulting for a little over two years now and I love it. I love the path that we're going down. I love how we go in and can literally assess an organization's infrastructure and find out what their pain points are. We come in and really just turn their companies around, helping to direct them into the next phase of their organization’s growth.”

Although she is far from home, Donna has a very close relationship with all of her siblings and they make it a point of having an annual trip where they all gather to visit and catch up on what has been going on in their lives. “I listened to some words from my mom when she was pretty sick and these words struck home with me. She was adamant about how important it is to keep the family together and so that is something that is very important to me.” Donna and her son, Caleb, who is 19 and attending Cal Poly Pomona, have an extremely close relationship. “I am about family. I am about my nieces and nephews, my sisters, and brothers, and this even transfers to how I do business. When I go into a company, I like for it to be more of a family-type environment, I like to greet people by their first names and get to know a bit about them not just as employees of the company, but as people.”

Since the pandemic, many businesses have slowed down, but thanks to the work that 5P Consulting has done and continues to do, they are able to help companies to see how technology has made things easier if they need to have employees remotely doing their jobs. With old technologies, much of this would not be possible.

Many businesses have had to scale back and rethink things and, look at their roadmaps differently. These business changes may have slowed things down for other consulting firms, but for 5P they have taken this opportunity to do something that this company with a huge heart has always wanted to do. “We are so passionate about what we do that we aren’t letting anything get in our way to help businesses. We are currently doing pro bono work for some of the local businesses, some of the smaller businesses here in San Diego. We are saying ‘Hey, I know you may not have the budget or capital right now, but let's see how we can help you.” It’s all about helping other businesses in the community, providing value, and helping businesses become more efficient through the use of data and technology solutions.

"Muralist in Town"

Photos and Article by Maggie Ramos

Don't be a stranger. Talk to your neighbors. You will learn a lot from them. I've learned from my neighbors, and our neighbors have learned from us as a family.

I recently took the time to meet and know more about my neighbor and friend, Brett Stokes. I've learned he is a great artist, and now I also know one of the muralists in town. Brett grew up in Fallbrook and enjoyed it all the way.

During his high school years, he was doing a lot of art and taking a lot of art courses, but then got into construction and didn't do much art. During his construction time people learned he was capable of being a good artist and began requesting signs, logos, magazine illustrations, and different art from him. Before Brett knew it, he was practicing more as an artist than a construction crew member. Brett expressed, "It then started to almost become a career type of thing."

Brett took the time to sit and share about the opportunity to work with other muralists artists and traveled to Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Colorado, and California to show some of his work in different galleries and paint interiors in casinos.

Brett laughs as he says, "I never hit it big you know, but it was marginal success, and it was fun." Brett practiced road trips and enjoyed the country sightseeing as he traveled. In the past, he has also done home interior art and participated with the mural at the entrance of the library in Vista Ca. Most recently he has been invited to do a few murals in Fallbrook.

Brett explains to me that the canvases on the murals become feet instead of inches, and they are not much different from any other canvas. He has also done, and still does, children’s books. Brett continues to work by commission.

You can find this great artist and friend "Brett Stokes," at btmstokes@gmail.com or text him at 760-420-8656