August 2023 - Parks & Recreation - 48

CONFERENCE
2023
ANNUAL
Vernā Myers to Deliver Keynote at 2023
NRPA Annual Conference
RPA is excited to announce that Vernˉa Myers, an inclusion strategist,
cultural innovator, thought leader and social commentator, will present
the keynote during the opening general session on on Tuesday,
October 10 at the Kay Bailey Hutchison Convention Center in Dallas.
Myers is well-known
for her high-energy
keynotes, her
captivating insights,
and her ability to
help people bridge
differences and
connect more
meaningfully.
In 2021, Myers was named
by Diversity Woman as one of the
top 100 Black Women Executives.
Myers is well-known for her
high-energy keynotes, her captivating
insights, and her ability to help
people bridge differences and connect
more meaningfully. She rose
out of Baltimore's working class to
become a Harvard-trained lawyer
and founder of The Vernˉa Myers
Company. In 2018, Myers took
on the inaugural role of vice president,
inclusion strategy at Netflix,
where she leads a diverse team of
talent in curating and implementing
strategies to integrate cultural
diversity, inclusion and equity into
48 Parks & Recreation | A UGUS T 2 0 2 3
all aspects of the organization's
global operations.
Myers is the author of two
best-selling books published
by the American Bar Association:
Moving Diversity Forward:
Going 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 Towards
Them, " has been viewed
more than 5 million times and
translated into 27 different languages
(tinyurl.com/mk6szr2z).
Her course, Confronting Biases,
was recognized as one of the top
10 LinkedIn Learning courses in
2021 and has been taken by more
than half-a-million learners.
In 2021, Myers was named
by Diversity Woman as one of the
top 100 Black Women Executives.
Some of her other awards and
activities include being elected as
a Fellow of the College of Law
Practice Management, Board
Member of University of California
(UC) College of Law, San
Francisco's (formerly UC Hastings)
Work Life Law program,
awarded the Diversity Champion
award by Pepper Hamilton LLP,
named by The Network Journal as
" 25 Influential Black Women
in Business, " and recognized
by
Massachusetts Lawyer's
| PARK S ANDRECRE AT ION . OR G
N
Weekly as a " Diversity Hero. "
In the early part of her career,
Myers was the first Executive Director
of The Boston Law Firm
Group, served as Deputy Chief of
Staff for the Attorney General of
Massachusetts (1997-1999), and
practiced corporate and real estate
law for six years at Testa, Hurwitz
& Thibeault LLP and Fitch, Wiley,
Richlin & Tourse LLP. Myers graduated
from Harvard Law School
and graduated with a Bachelor of
Arts, magna cum laude, from Barnard
College, Columbia University.
For the past two decades, Myers
and The Vernˉa Myers Company
have helped hundreds of 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.
Her curated annual invitation-only
Opus Conference on Race and Ethnicity
successfully convened leaders
across industries. She continues to
convene conversations with guest
speakers on her online talk show,
" Sundays with Vernˉa. " Myers and
The Vernˉa Myers Company offer
their own brand of e-learning
courses on various diversity, equity
and inclusion topics on their online
learning platform, tvmcu.com.
Myers and The Vernˉa Myers Company
own the trademark to her
popularly used saying, " Diversity is
being invited to the party. Inclusion
is being asked to dance. " ®
To learn more or register for the
2023 NRPA Annual Conference,
visit conference.nrpa.org.
COURTESY OF VERN ˉA MYERS AND LAURIE BELL BISHOP
http://tinyurl.com/mk6szr2z http://www.tvmcu.com http://conference.nrpa.org
August 2023 - Parks & Recreation

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