2016 | Vernā Myers

05 Dec 2016

Overlooked and Unaddressed: Students Recount Fighting Ableism on Campus

By Rachel Whalen Photo Courtesy of Nicole Agaronnik ’19. She walked into the classroom, prepared to take her exam, when she noticed the chair behind her desk was not conducive to her scoliosis. Sitting in a chair for long periods of time hurts her back, so she requested a different one. She kept her head down to avoid any unwanted attention, but her classmates began to comment.“I don...

29 Nov 2016

How Do You Go Forward After A Bruising Election? #pledgeparity

Author Dixie Gloria Feldt, Huffington Post. “Victory is not final. Defeat is not fatal. It’s the courage to continue that counts.” This quote is misattributed to Winston Churchill. But whoever said it was right. Having been through many wins and losses, I can vouch for that. I offer it as balm if you are pained by the election results and as caution if you’re pleased with the outcome....

18 Nov 2016

If You Voted For Trump And You’re Not A Racist, You Have A Lot Of Work To Do

By Vernā Myers. As a diversity and inclusion specialist who preaches the importance of understanding the perspectives of others, I started talking to a number of you who voted for President-elect Trump last week. Truthfully, I was humbled by Hillary Clinton’s defeat, and it kindled a curiosity in me about the nature of Trump’s supporters. Why would good people throw in with a man who ...

26 Oct 2016

10 Radical Acts Of Grace Needed To Get Through The Last Two Weeks Of The 2016 Presidential Election

No matter where you turn, the news can be maddening. This election cycle has been the source of great distress for many: name-calling, taunts about a rigged system and media bias, constant Wiki-leaking, coded and outright declarations of racist and sexist ideologies, divisive language and targeting of immigrants and religious minorities. And this unreal circus is being conducted on a ver...

13 Oct 2016

Vernā Addresses the ROI Summit in Downtown Tulsa

By Samuel Hardiman, Tulsa World. Making Tulsa’s workforce more inclusive is key to progress Speakers point to report that shows more diverse companies earn more Chatter filled the downtown Tulsa DoubleTree by Hilton ballroom for five minutes or so Wednesday afternoon. It wasn’t idle chatter. It was hundreds of people reflecting on their upbringing, heritage and what the city’s — and n...

10 Oct 2016

“Ethnically Diverse Companies Are 35% More Likely to Outperform Their Competitors”

Recruiting CEO Dixie Agostino, Tulsa World. There’s money to be made in diversity. McKinsey & Co., a global management consulting firm, shows ethnically diverse companies are 35 percent more likely to outperform their competitors. Catalyst, an organization that promotes inclusive workplaces for women, show more women on the board leads to a long-term statistical performance adv...

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