Verna Myers
- Cultural Change Catalyst & Influencer
- VP, Inclusion Strategy at Netflix
- Best-selling author of: Moving Diversity Forward: How to Go From Well-Meaning to Well-Doing and What If I Say the Wrong Thing? 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People
In Person-Fee 🛈
Fee Range
$50,000 - $100,000
Virtual Fee:
$30,000 - $50,000
Travels From
Maryland
Verna Myers Speaker Biography
Vernā Myers is a cultural change catalyst, influencer, thought leader, social commentator, and author. She’s known for her high-energy keynotes, her captivating insights, and her ability to help people bridge differences and connect more meaningfully.
A Harvard-trained lawyer and founder of The Vernā Myers Company, Vernā is also the VP, Inclusion Strategy at Netflix where she leads her team in devising and implementing strategies that integrate cultural diversity, inclusion, and equity into all aspects of Netflix’s operations worldwide.
Vernā is the author of the best-selling books: Moving Diversity Forward: How to Go From Well-Meaning to Well-Doing and What If I Say the Wrong Thing? 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People. Her inspiring TED talk, “How to Overcome Our Biases? Walk Boldly Toward Them,” offers three ways any person can become an active participant in countering bias in themselves and in others to create a more just world. Vernā has been featured on CNN and cited in numerous publications including The Atlantic, Bloomberg BNA, Business Insider, Forbes, Fortune, Harvard Business Review, Refinery29, Real Simple, Shape Magazine, and TED NPR Radio to name a few.
For the last two decades, Vernā and The Vernā Myers Company have helped organizations eradicate barriers based on race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and other differences with the aim of establishing a new, more productive, and just status quo. As Vernā puts it, Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.®
Interested in bringing Vernā Myers into your organization? Vernā’s carefully curated topics on unconscious bias, anti-racism, cultural competency, and allyship provide a unique opportunity for employees and leaders to better understand how issues in today’s society impact our organizations and daily interactions both personally and professionally. Vernā also provides insight into the skills needed to work towards a more inclusive workplace.
Overcoming Bias and Disrupting Institutionalized Racism- From Neutrality to Action
The brutal Killing of George Floyd by police and the Black Lives Movement has not only brought to light the horrors of police brutality and racial injustice in the United States, but also racial inequities and anti-blackness operating in all aspects of our society. What should our response be in light of these disturbing and painful revelations? Vernā Myers will discuss how we can recognize and take an active stance against the conscious and unconscious biases and systems of power and privilege that maintain racial disparities. Vernā will challenge us to see this time as an opportunity to actively re-imagine a new, more inclusive, and equitable world– one where Black people and other marginalized groups are truly included and we can all experience the creative power of difference.
Allyship and Inclusive Leadership
As our workplaces and society are coming to a deeper awareness of racism and other forms of interpersonal and institutionalized bias, employees and leaders struggle with how they can be part of the solution for change. Inclusive Leadership is imperative to creating real change in our organizations, industries, and communities but Allyship is equally vital in helping to remove barriers that many Black people and other marginalized groups confront on a daily basis. Being an Ally or as some are now calling an “accomplice” or a “co-conspirator”- is not solely about being a “good person.” An effective Ally amplifies the voices of those who have been excluded and advocates on their behalf. Allyship requires us to develop the kind of trusting relationships with groups of people that many of us do not currently have, to be willing to take risks, and spend our privilege to elevate others. This presentation will help participants understand the importance of Inclusive Leadership and where it differs from Allyship. Participants will also learn the specific elements of Allyship, how to leverage their privilege, build authentic relationships, and avoid common pitfalls as they work to create fairness, justice, and meaningful opportunity for all.
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