The Rainforest Leadership Group LLC, headquartered in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, provides focused and strategic consulting services in the areas of economic, workforce, community and organizational development for communities, organizations and individual leaders. Our purpose is to deliver and facilitate result-oriented services for our clients that will energize performance, shape successful solutions, and create a competitive advantage.
Our objective is to assist not only the development of high-impact strategies, but more importantly help activate execution that results in measurable benchmarks and outcomes.
Moving your community to the next level of performance is essential to renew, revitalize and rebuild a vibrant economy.
The founder and managing partner of Rainforest is Johnnie Aycock. With over 40 years of on-the-ground experience, we are passionate and committed to the mission of rebuilding rural America at the grassroots level.
Johnnie Aycock brings years of effective leadership experience in economic and rural development, leadership training and organizational management, including 28 years of highly productive results as President & CEO of The Chamber of Commerce of West Alabama.
Johnnie offers enthusiasm, energy, creativity and skilled facilitation as your partner along with a national network of experienced and skilled economic development leaders. This includes development of civic infrastructure, leadership, entrepreneurial ecosystems and economic and public policy at the local and regional levels.

TRUST THE TESTIMONIES!
“With vast experience and a successful track record in economic, community and organization development over many years, Johnnie Aycock would add value to any team, project or initiative. A strategic thinker, Johnnie has the ability to envision a need or opportunity and then provide the leadership to help transform a vision into practical results. An excellent facilitator, Johnnie strives for results!”
“With vast experience and a successful track record in economic, community and organization development over many years, Johnnie Aycock would add value to any team, project or initiative. A strategic thinker, Johnnie has the ability to envision a need or opportunity and then provide the leadership to help transform a vision into practical results. An excellent facilitator, Johnnie strives for results!”
Tina Naremore Jones, Ph.D.
Vice President – Division of Economic & Workforce Development
“I have worked with Johnnie for more than 25 years on projects related to improving state and local government in Alabama. I have found him to be very committed to making government a productive partner in community development initiatives, and very creative in considering how to bring service providers together for the common good of the community. He knows how to lead a collaborative process that encourages participants to think ‘outside the box.’ I recommend him in the highest possible terms.”
“I have known Johnnie for over 35 years. His longevity at the Chamber speaks volumes for his leadership, flexibility and commitment to the tasks. I have always found him to be insightful, visionary and not afraid of facing the issues head on. I am confident that any client that wants to develop a partnership with a clear understanding of the end result expected in advance will find Johnnie to be the right fit.”
“I have known Johnnie for over 40 years. He is one of the most thorough persons that I have ever had the opportunity to work with domestically and internationally. He is passionate in his work and his dedication to serving others for the betterment of society. His record of accomplishment in economic development and entrepreneurship speaks for itself. When Johnnie has a vision, he sees it through completion. Johnnie would be an asset to any project that he commits himself to lead.”
In the area of facilitation of group discussion for interactive learning or problem solving, he is simply one of the best I have seen. He would, in my opinion, rank in the top one percentile of training and development leaders. His effectiveness in large part is found in his visionary thinking and his ability to garner acceptance and “buy in” from a diverse group of individuals with differing opinions. His presentation skills are outstanding and his motivational speaking is superb.
“I have had the pleasure of knowing Johnnie Aycock for over 30 years and found him to be one of the most creative and talented executives in the chamber of commerce industry. Johnnie is a true professional with an amazing ability to quickly analyze a project, create a vision that inspires the team, and then plan a strategic path to achieve the goal with the leadership skills and tenacity to bring the vision to reality. He’s also a very gifted writer.”
“I have known and worked with Johnnie Aycock since 1983. He is a man of action who sees a problem and tries to fix it, sees an opportunity and seizes it. He seems to never rest and never satisfied. He has made an unbelievable impact on Tuscaloosa County and West Alabama and influenced my life in a positive way like few others have.”
Honorable John H. Merrill
Alabama Secretary of State