Verna Myers

Vernā Myers is the Vice President of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix and is one of the most highly regarded cultural commentators in the world who has an uncanny ability to help people connect more meaningfully. She uses her refreshing voice and experience of over two decades to help organisations overcome any biases they have to increase inclusion and therefore productivity. Having spoken at illustrious events such as the Big Ideas for the Public Library Association Conference, Baltimore’s Light City, SXSW Conference & Festivals, Variety’s Changemakers Summit and on the TEDx stage with her talk titled ‘How to Overcome Our Biases? Walk Boldy Towards Them’, Vernā also eloquently shares her world-renowned knowledge with organisations to help them become a more inclusive workplace where everyone is safe to be themselves.

Having originally studied Political Science at Barnard College, Vernā then went on to study law at Harvard, graduating in 1985 with a Juris Doctor degree. Vernā then spent several years as an Associate Attorney with Testa, Hurwitz & Thieault LLP and then Fitch, Wiley, Richlin & Tourse. In 1992 Vernā then became the Executive Director of The Boston Law Firm Group and during her tenure as the Deputy Chief of Staff for the Office of the Attorney General, she was able to greatly increase statewide initiatives regarding sexual harassment training and diversity and inclusion. Wanting to increase her impact in regard to diversity and inclusion, Vernā founded The Vernā Myers Company in 1997 and has been consulting international companies ever since.

Proving to be an incredibly popular consultancy firm, Vernā’s company is also its own sponsor for a highly successful annual Opus Conference on race and ethnicity. Coupled with her knowledge of law and legal practices, Vernā helps to bring intractable issues to the forefront of the conversation to incite change. Vernā has now collaborated with hundreds of companies all over the globe, including Wall Street giants, the New York City Fire Department and international law firms to foster a multicultural working environment. She has also been featured in numerous publications including The Atlantic, Diversity Women’s Media Inclusion Magazine, Forbes, Harvard Business Review, Business Insider, and was chosen to be a subject-matter guest on CNN.

With her TEDx talk now gaining over 4.6 million views, Vernā has cemented herself as the thought leader in cultural change and has been using her expertise to help eradicate workplace barriers associated with ethnicity, race, gender and sexual orientation. She was also the recipient of The Network Journal’s ’25 Influential Black Women in Business’ Award To help individuals learn about inclusion and diversity, The Vernā Myers Company offers their own e-learning courses to everyone around the world who has access to educational resources. Vernā is also the author of two popular 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’. When looking for an internationally respected speaker on diversity and inclusion, look no further than Vernā Myers to hire at your next event today.