The Network Journal Announces 25 Influential Black Women in Business

Principal, Vernã Myers Consulting Group L.L.C., Newton, Mass.

Vernã Myers was just a child during the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, but the events of that decade tremendously influenced her career path.

“Without justice, inclusion and equal opportunity, we all suffer,” says Myers, principal of Vernã Myers Consulting Group L.L.C., a diversity consultancy with some of the country’s leading global law firms as clients.

“My practice is an extension of [the Civil Rights Movement], going beyond the law and the sit-ins and marches to try to create conversations and awareness to motivate people to do the right thing.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in political science at Barnard College and a law degree at Harvard Law School, Myers practiced corporate and real estate law.

She draws on her experience as a minority, female attorney in her work with her clients. “My perspective helps firms identify their blind spots and challenges them to broaden their world view,” she says.

Myers soon found that the demands of the path to partner did not allow her to be the mother she wanted to be to her young son. She found a more accommodating culture as executive director of The Boston Law Firm Group, a consortium of firms focused on increasing diversity. She later served as the deputy chief of staff for attorney general of Massachusetts, Scott Harshbarger, executing diversity and inclusion initiatives and outreach to the state’s diverse population. She credits Harshbarger with giving her the confidence to launch her own diversity-consulting practice.

While her work focuses on addressing issues of equality at the professional level, the Baltimore native also recognizes the urgency of equity issues in underserved communities.

She hopes to find platforms to encourage people of all backgrounds to confront the issues that divide and embrace inclusion that enriches all.

“Having my feet in both worlds is important to me,” says Myers.

One Sunday, 12-year-old Karen Rafferty couldn’t wait for her pastor’s sermon to end. After church, she hurried home to watch her favorite annual event on television: The Daytona 500. “From then on, I was hooked,” Rafferty says.

Since 1987, Rafferty has raced Chevrolet Corvettes, Camaros and Pontiac Firebirds competitively, winning four U.S. national titles in Sports Car Club of America’s Solo II competition and nine trophy positions. Her love of cars opened myriad possibilities at General Motors Corp., where she started as an administrative assistant in 1988 in the Pittsburgh office.

She took advantage of GM’s employee benefits while working full time to obtain a bachelor’s degree in business/communications from Carlow College in Pittsburgh, Pa., and an MBA from the University of Pittsburgh’s Katz Graduate School of Business.

Several managerial positions followed, including Cadillac brand director for 18 months in Shanghai, China, where she led a multicultural team that marketed Cadillac to the entire country. “It was a good education in understanding a market,” Rafferty asserts.

Twenty years later, she is the product and marketing director for the Chevrolet Malibu, Impala, Corvette and Camaro brands.

Being a female “car guy” in the auto industry gives Rafferty an opportunity to meet with customers. “I know they’re asking, ‘what does this female have to say about performance cars?’ But by the end of my presentation, they realize it’s all about the message, not the messenger,” she smiles.

To de-stress, Rafferty kickboxes and jogs at night. In October, she completed her first 26.2-mile marathon in Detroit.

Cynics may compare her loyalty to the automotive industry to the orchestra that played on while the Titanic sank. Rafferty is confident that GM — and the industry as a whole — will rev up again.

“I absolutely enjoy coming to work for GM and I’ve never thought of doing anything else,” she says. “Not a lot of people can say that about their jobs.”

When Rebecca Williams was a girl, she observed that her friend’s father had really great markers on his work desk. She recalls thinking that “any job that allows you to have such great markers must be really cool.”

Now, as senior vice president/executive creative officer at Uniworld Group Inc., Williams has a cool job, too. After graduating from Scripps College with a bachelor’s degree in English, Williams started her advertising career at Uniworld in 1986. She has been involved in advertising for AT&T, Burger King, Pillsbury and Walt Disney World.

During forays away from Uniworld, Williams helped start Rush Media, where she created a campaign of energetic new urban spots for The Coco-Cola Co. As creative director at Spike/DDB, Williams worked on projects for Fox Sports and Soft Sheen Products. She subsequently opened Hot Sauce, a boutique advertising agency that was instrumental in re-launching Soft Sheen’s Dark & Lovely hair colors and in creating a campaign for Bally Total Fitness.

The main thing she learned from all these experiences, she says, is that “with particular insights you can talk with many people, regardless of race or gender.”

Williams concedes that at times her family has to take a back seat to her work. “It has been difficult,” says the wife and mother of four. “It is almost harder now that the kids are older because I feel guilty about the things that I miss.”

At the same time, Williams recognizes that she has the opportunity to impact the lives of others. “It is really rewarding to be able to inspire people to say ‘you know what? I can do that too!’”

Indeed, she is looking forward to being even more involved in mentoring and inspiring younger people. “I feel like, after all these years of working, I am finally scratching the surface of being able to give back,” she declares. “Now I feel like I am really ready for service.”

Four years ago, Heide Gardner joined the staff of Interpublic Group as the director of diversity. A promotion to senior vice president two years later made her the first African-American and one of three women in senior management at the global marketing services conglomerate. Gardner’s career benefited from the strength and resilience she inherited from her parents and open communication with senior executives. “My role here is to be a cheerleader for our progress, but it’s also to be a resource for solving some very tough problems. Trusting relationships with my CEO and other leaders is essential for assessing what’s working and what isn’t,” she says.

While Gardner is saddened that some of the industry’s role models from whom she drew inspiration and encouragement have left the industry in search of opportunities elsewhere, she is thrilled by the progress of newcomers she has worked with over the years. She is bent on effecting change so that this generation, including her two sons, would have similar opportunities to those she has enjoyed. “I want them to get the chances they deserve to be seen not as ‘diversity’ candidates, but simply as ‘included’ candidates,” she says.

The eldest of three children, Gardner says her parents’ sacrifices enabled her to earn a bachelor’s in economics and political science at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass.

Gardner’s advice to those on a corporate diversity leadership path is: Be honest with the company’s leadership and have the courage to ask for what is needed; use vision and inspiration to help others connect the dots between the workplace and marketplace; open doors and create access for others; seek out spiritual renewal and humility. “Most of the opportunities in my life emerged while I was giving back to others. Everything came out of those moments when I was trying to make a difference,” she says.