Verona Mitchell (she, her, hers) is a certified intercultural development & diversity executive coach and global leader aligning DEI performance with personal, business goals and strategies. Her strengths are DEI management, leadership and intercultural development for both personal, groups and teams. Verona aids business in discovering the beauty and value of intercultural experiences and diversity as a part of their return on their human investment (ROHI). That's Verona's term, ROHI.

In 2003, 2005 and 2017, she delivered groundbreaking research on cultural frameworks to communication at the Worldwide Conferences on Culture and Education at John Cabot University and George Washington University, both in Rome, Italy. She holds both a B.A. and M.A. in Organizational Leadership and has credit towards a Phd. in Public Policy Administration with specialization in International Nongovernmental Organizations (NGOs). Verona is a certified intercultural development & diversity executive and a global leadership professional who has dedicated her career to aligning DEI performance with personal and business goals and strategy. She yields from New Orleans, Louisiana and resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

What you'll learn about in this episode:

• How Verona's career path led her to doing diversity, equity and inclusion work, and how that work naturally aligns with her interest in understanding people
• How the murder of George Floyd at the hands of police has created a sea change in global DEI work and shined a light on the level of inequities we face in society today
• How businesses, organizations and individuals are struggling to deal with the reality of the racial inequities that led to George Floyd's murder
• How increased awareness of racial inequity has started a difficult but important conversation in many organizations, and how DEI work needs to adapt
• How DEI practitioners have a unique opportunity to help organizations make positive changes in their workplaces
• What new trends have developed since the murder of George Floyd in the DEI space, and how individuals are increasingly feeling empowered to speak out
• Why authenticity and telling stories is crucial to effectively deliver the diversity, equity and inclusion message
• What advice Verona would share with new DEI practitioners just entering the field and uncertain how to start the necessary work

Additional resources:

• Website: https://cultivesimpact.com/
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/veronamitchell
• LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/cultural-perspectives-consulting-&-associates-llc
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/cultivesimpact
• Twitter: @IMVERONA