Dr. Verna Price is a teacher at her core with a heart and passion for humanity. Reinventing her work every five years, she’s transitioned from a teacher in a traditional school setting, to a teacher of educators in her consulting business of 20 years, to a teacher of entrepreneurs, corporate leaders, and organizations.

Addwomxn penciled in time on Dr. Verna’s calendar outside of the DEI work she’s guiding us through as an organization on a personal and collective level. Her incredible personable style and skill in unpacking historic and modern-day racism has us feeling very fortunate to know her and be her students. From our recent conversation, we bring you a little of our Q & A, lightly edited for clarity.

 

What stands out from your upbringing as defining moments or your community that shaped who you are today?

I was born in the Bahamas and raised by my grandmother along with my brothers – one older, one younger because my mom, a single mom, worked full-time. We lived on a small island in the Bahamas and my extended family included 76 first cousins! There was nothing small about it. It’s where I learned what community meant. It’s where I first developed a passion for humanity. It’s where I learned how to love, give, and share.

As an early reader, my cousins looked to me to teach them to read. By age 10, I had established my “teaching career” so to speak. I viewed this as my role in community and of course, others shared their gifts too. It fostered this, “we’re all in this together” mentality and way of life.

 

Then you came to America — Florida — to be specific. How did that transition go for you?

Yes… I went from small island community to the Florida promise land and its streets of gold, where people dreamed of becoming a star. At merely a decade old, I didn’t need to be told we had arrived in an environment very different than our home. None of the dreams would be true for me and my family. It was a really hard transition.

I experienced first hand serious racism, serious prejudice, and discrimination. All the things I talk about today in my work are rooted these experiences. I’ve had to live through those things. And while experiencing it all, I was having to adjust to such a terribly different culture than I grew up in. There was really no guide to navigate any of it. Truthfully, I didn’t know what I was experiencing or how to ask for anything that would have made things better.

What I knew was that I came from a very loving and caring family, and I had been abruptly dropped into this new community that treated me terribly. My family was also experiencing their own challenges in our new reality. I do recall that my Spanish teacher seemed to see me – see what was deeper. She was a lifeline who cared and continued to check on me to make sure I was okay.

 

Thank goodness for that teacher. Today, you’re an internationally known human potential expert who specializes in personal power, cross-cultural communications, facilitating racism conversations, employee engagement, leadership and managing change. Where did all of this greatness start and how has it evolved to what it is today?

I’ve been a lifelong teacher for sure. Variations on how I teach, who I teach, and the content I teach keep evolving. When I left my more traditional teaching role and started my independent consulting firm in 2001, my vision was to be an educator of educators. Stepping into that, led me to write my first book: The Power of People.

It was divine inspiration! God told me to write a book. And along that same inspirational vibe, I also remained free of an official process – I wrote when I was moved to do so. It was a gift in that it shaped how I talked to people. At the onset it was about how to be a good principal or teacher and that shifted to cultivating leadership and personal power. Those who heard my message or read my book commented that I had a compelling, innate way of pulling out the potential in people.

In essence, the book became the cornerstone of my work. It’s branched out from there as I’ve done a TED Talk, had a radio show, and now have a collection of many speaking engagements. The four types of people I describe in the book – adders, subtracters, dividers, and multipliers – remain a relevant way of starting the conversation around potential. My goal is to get that book into the hands of 1M people!

 

While your book sales are ticking upward, how has your work evolved?

I’ve transitioned to working more with businesses, schools, corporations, leadership teams, executives, entrepreneurs, and boards of directors over the past few years. I enjoy the variety in structure from high-level leaders and organizations to grassroots organizations.

All of that aside, I make sure any work I accept that requires facilitating racism conversations is rooted in that group’s integrity. And believe me, I can bring the enthusiasm, inspire, and pump anyone up to do the work, but my role is distinctly not this. My role is to ensure my clients bring integrity to the conversations and that they’re committed to looking broadly and deeply across their organizations and are willing to integrate and instill systems (i.e. hiring) that lead to sustainable, authentic change.

 

You posed that question about integrity and authenticity to Addwomxn founder Renita Faye when she reached out to work together.

Sure did. When Renita called in the summer of 2020, I cautioned her to launch Addwomxn only if she intended to do the lifelong work of eradicating racism through a personal and professional journey. I’ve seen white women with good intentions step into this space as anti-racist, then exit because yes… it’s hard. But we don’t need any more false or unfounded efforts like this. We need individuals willing to do work to eradicate racism by living it out. That’s a critical piece. And it’s hard work.

Since that conversation, I’ve witnessed women leaders in Addwomxn become solid in their commitment to anti-racism work. I’ve seen them step into their personal power and continue to do this work. I want to see women leaders, particularly in fields where they have autonomy, go for what they want. In the marketing and creative field, it’s just time!

 

From your perspective, what excites you about Addwomxn? 

I think women can strengthen each other in this work. What’s interesting about Addwomxn is that you’re all entrepreneurs, essentially solo runners in your own spaces. And to bring all of that brilliance and creativity into one space to do work together is powerful.

We have to remember that women are complex and complicated people. We lead with good feelings and good ideas, but it takes a more concerted effort to do, to take action. That’s the beauty of Addwomxn. You get to do both the connecting work and also the collective make-it-happen work. That’s what sets Addwomxn apart. Women are able to be caring and connecting, while climbing.

 

What’s new and next for Dr. Verna?

A close friend of mine shared an idea with me about the importance of reinventing yourself and your work every five years. That’s landed true for me and has happened organically. In general, I don’t do anything people think I should do. I do everything that I know I’m supposed to do. I’m as focused as you get.

 

— Addwomxn Amplifies is an ongoing series designed to highlight the work and lived experiences — personal and professional — of our BIPOC community.