About Us At Vernā Myers Consulting Group, we know law firms, and we know how to help them change. Because we have practiced in top firms ourselves, we know the real-world demands of the profession and the real-world frustrations on both sides of the diversity equation. Drawing on that experience, we have helped dozens of law firms and related organizations face the challenges of diversity & inclusion – and find lasting answers that are good for their people and good for their business as well. We bring a candid, upbeat, inspiring approach and a practical, principled outlook on what works and what doesn't. We are highly effective in working with senior partners, associates, and staff alike, no matter what preconceptions anyone may bring to the process. For most organizations, "diversity" is a deceptively simple label that masks a great deal of uncertainty and frustration. We see all too many firms sincerely committed to building diversity and sincerely baffled at their lack of long-term success, despite great effort and growing pressure from their clients. We also see far too many attorneys and staff with tremendous drive and talent whose careers are subtly sidetracked by unintentional cultural and structural hurdles within their firms. Our driving mission is to help our clients succeed: to help them transform diversity from a painfully elusive human resources goal into a real, positive, invigorating fact of life – a feature that inspires new thinking, attracts new talent, and opens the door to new business. Vernā Myers, Esq. Ms. Myers, the principal of VMCG and a nationally recognized expert in diversity issues within law firms and other legal settings, has been advising law firms about recruitment and retention of attorneys of color since 1992 when she began as The Boston Law Firm Group's first Executive Director. Under her leadership, the Group, a consortium of the largest law firms in Boston, Massachusetts committed to increasing the representation of attorneys of color, made significant progress in minority recruitment and addressing issues of retention. As Deputy Chief of Staff for the Attorney General of Massachusetts (1997-99), Ms. Myers successfully designed and led a comprehensive diversity initiative, increasing minority recruitment; conducting diversity, anti-discrimination and sexual harassment trainings; and performing outreach to better serve the state's diverse population. Ms. Myers practiced corporate and real estate law in Boston for six years at Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault LLP and at Fitch, Wiley, Richlin & Tourse LLP. She graduated from Harvard Law School and received a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, from Barnard College, Columbia University. back to top Ms. Yvonne Alverio Senior Consultant Yvonne Alverio is the founder and President of Yvonne Alverio & Associates, a management consulting firm specializing in strategic diversity management, organizational development, and manager development. As a recently certified VMCG team member, Yvonne has done extensive analysis, consulting, and training on diversity-related issues within several major law firms. She is a nationally recognized professional in the field of work force diversity with over twenty years of experience in managing and consulting in diverse environments, both public and private. Her expertise is in strategic planning, team dynamics, employee relations, and management development, and the creation of targeted tool kits to help individuals in their management roles. Yvonne has consulted to a wide range of mid-sized and Fortune 500 firms in health care, financial services, insurance, publishing, retail, oil and gas, and high technology. She has also worked with state government, community based and educational institutions. Her recent clients include: Campbell Soup, Aetna, Inc, National Education Association (NEA), ExxonMobil, Kodak, Wawa Stores, Fidelity, United Technologies, Northeast Utilities, Dupont, Northrop Grumman, Best Buy, Bright Horizons Family Solutions and United Airlines. Yvonne has appeared in a several training films, and has authored articles related to diversity and inclusion that were published in local newspapers and national magazines. Prior to her consulting practice, Yvonne served as Director of Workforce Diversity for Aetna Life and Casualty where she was responsible for leading the company’s development of strategies, systems and management practices that support worldwide high performance and integrate key business goals with diversity. Previously, she has worked as Corporate Director of Diversity and Staffing for Lotus Development Corp; Employee Relations Manager, Human Resources Manager, and Affirmative Action Manager for Wang Laboratories; Minority/Women Business Enterprise Program Manager for the Environmental Protection Agency; and, Employment and Training Manager for the City of Boston. She has also served in the Army Reserves and retired in June of 2002 from Connecticut National Guard after twenty-seven years of service. Her undergraduate degree from the University of Connecticut is in cultural anthropology, and graduate work is in Human Resources Management. back to top Ms. Jane Bermont A Vernā Myers Consulting Group (VMCG) Senior Consultant for several years, Jane Bermont has worked as a project team member with a range of VMCG clients. She is the President of Bermont & Associates, a management consulting and training firm specializing in diversity, sexual harassment prevention, and executive coaching in law firms.  She combines professional skills in management development and psychology and has extensive experience in global corporations. Ms. Bermont specializes in the area of sexual harassment prevention, including investigations, coaching and training.  She has also consulted on women’s advancement and work-life issues for global corporations in the US and Sweden, France, Mexico, Ireland, UK, Italy and China. back to top   Angela R. Bryant JD Angela R. Bryant, JD, is a Senior Consultant and Co-founder of VISIONS, Inc.   She is also a Senior Consultant with the Vernā Myers Consulting Group, LLC. Ms. Bryant has 30 years of legal experience and was a NC state administrative law judge for ten years. She earned her JD at the University of North Carolina. She has held several appointed governmental positions of significant responsibility, including the UNC-CH Board of Trustees and the UNC Board of Governors. Ms. Bryant was a Charter Member and former President of the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys and the 1983 Lawyer of the year for the North Carolina Association of Black Lawyers for co-founding the Land Loss Prevention Project at North Carolina Central University School of Law. Ms. Bryant was also a former member of the Disciplinary Hearing Commission of the N.C. State Bar and just recently received the UNC-CH Distinguished Alumna award for the co-founding of VISIONS Inc. - "for outstanding contributions to humanity in striving to build a society that overcomes racism, sexism and ageism and seeks to achieve social justice for all. She is an elected member of the City Council in Rocky Mount, N.C. Ms. Bryant has been consulting to and training individuals and organizations in applying principles of justice to interpersonal problem solving and organizational development for over 20 years.  She particularly focuses on the areas of equal opportunity, affirmative action, community economic development, managing transitions, collaborative problem solving, meeting facilitation, internalized "-isms." train-the-trainer models, and global inclusion issues. back to top Mr. Douglas Fletcher Mr. Fletcher joined VMCG as a consultant in 2006. He is an Organization Development Consultant who specializes in diversity training, with expertise in team effectiveness, and process consultation. He has supported corporate and non-profit clients throughout the U.S. and is well recognized as a leader in the field. Clients he has worked with include Wachovia, Nike, the Federal Aviation Administration, Lucent Technologies, Verizon, Head Start, the Randolph Civic Association, the National Association of Housing Cooperatives, and the Institute for Conservation Leadership. Doug has nine years of experience in diversity training, organization development and business management.  As a Diversity Trainer he uses a systemic approach to raise clients’ awareness of diversity issues at the interpersonal, group, and organizational levels.  As an Organization Development Consultant he uses the methodologies of Action Research and Process Consulting, to assist clients in generating accurate data, and utilizing the knowledge and resources that exist within their organizations.  He partners with clients and draws on his diagnostic skills, compassion, and sense of humor to assist them in improving the effectiveness of their organizations. He graduated from American University with a Master’s of Science in Organizational Development. Doug is certified in Organization & Systems Development from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland.  He also completed a two-year experience-based learning and training program to gain certification from the National Training Labs Institute for Applied Behavioral Science.  back to top Marguerite Fletcher, Esq. Marguerite Fletcher, Esq. joined VMCG as a Senior Consultant in 2006.  She has been active in diversity issues for over twenty years. Ms. Fletcher was a member of The Boston Lawyers Group, a consortium of Boston firms seeking to increase the diversity of their lawyer members and employees, for several years while working for the law firm of Hale and Dorr (now known as Wilmer Hale), where she was involved in recruiting and hiring of associates.  While working for Lotus Development Corporation/IBM, she was an active member of a group of senior employees who focused their efforts on the hiring and retention of people of color by the company.  Later, as a senior attorney for Genuity, Inc., Ms. Fletcher worked with the COO to launch a diversity assessment and plan for the company. As a Senior Consultant for VMCG, Ms. Fletcher has: Performed comprehensive Needs Assessments. Analyzed and reported on such Assessments. Developed strategic action plans. Conducted diversity awareness workshops. Designed and facilitated recruitment training. Provided ongoing consulting on diversity and inclusion. Spoken at law schools on various diversity topics Advised clients on evaluation and feedback systems Ms. Fletcher currently has a law practice, in Newton, Massachusetts, which is focused on corporate and intellectual property law.  Her primary clients are in the software, telecom and biotechnology areas.  Ms. Fletcher has practiced law for over 17 years in corporate, international and intellectual property areas.  She has practiced law as an associate in a major law firm, as a member of two corporate law departments and as a solo practitioner. Ms. Fletcher  is a graduate of the Harvard Law School and the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service.  She was born in Kingston, Jamaica and has lived in Jamaica, the United Kingdom and the United States.  back to top  Bill Friedman Bill Friedman is a VMCG Senior Consultant and the founder of WSF & Associates, an organizational development consulting practice.  He has over fifteen years of experience in consulting and training to industry, legal, education and government institutions. Bill’s work focuses on the enhancement of organizations, work teams and individuals. Through a client-centered, results-oriented approach, he has helped organizations improve their management of people, opportunity and performance. Bill has worked with individuals at all levels, from CEOs, corporate executives and managing partners to associates, supervisors and line personnel. He has developed and delivered an array of training programs on such topics as Diversity in the Workplace, Leadership, Communication, High Performing Teams, Management and Supervision, and Sexual Harassment.  Mr. Friedman holds degrees in Psychology from Harvard and in Organization/Human Resource Development from The American University-NTL. Bill has consulted to a wide variety of organizations including manufacturing, pharma and biotech, finance, legal, engineering, human service providers, colleges and universities.  He has worked with individuals at all levels, from CEOs and corporate executives to supervisors and line personnel. He has worked with over 50 organizations, from Fortune 100 companies to leading universities, to enhance their diversity strategies.   back to top Kathy-Ann Hart, Esq. Kathy-Ann Hart has been active in diversity issues for almost 15 years. Ms. Hart was a member of The Boston Lawyers Group, a consortium of Boston firms seeking to increase the diversity of their lawyer members and employees, for several years while working for the law firm Ropes & Gray, LLP, where she was also an active recruiter for the firm, particularly focused on recruiting minority attorneys. Ms. Hart participated in Ropes & Gray’s Attorneys Of Color group, conducting internal assessments of the firm’s “best practices” and its effects on minority attorneys, as well as representing the firm on panels at Harvard Law School for minority summer associates. Ms. Hart currently teaches a course called Legislation at Northeastern Law School. She is also certified as a Massachusetts collaborative lawyer. Ms. Hart is a graduate of the Harvard Law School where she was a member of the Harvard Legal Aid Bureau and co-founder of the Bureau’s Diversity Task Force. She was born in Trinidad, West Indies and is a citizen of Trinidad and the United States. back to top Patricia A. Hennesy, Esq. Patricia A.  Hennessy is a senior consultant with VMCG and has over twenty years of experience in the legal profession, first as a practicing attorney and subsequently as the director of professional development at a major Boston law firm.  Ms. Hennessy currently leads HENNESSY Consulting GROUP, an attorney career management firm dedicated to coaching attorneys through change and providing expert advice to law firms and other legal employers in the area of attorney professional development.   Ms. Hennessy also serves as a JD Advisor at Harvard Law School. Ms. Hennessy entered the world of law firm management as the first Director of Professional Development at Choate, Hall & Stewart, designing and leading the professional development program for approximately five years.  In that capacity, she oversaw the firm’s attorney orientation, training and skills development programs and workflow management, mentoring and evaluation systems.  She served as a member of the firm’s senior management team, holding the title Of Counsel and reporting directly to the Managing Partners.  She chaired committees devoted to training and professional development and served on other firm committees, including the firm’s Diversity, Hiring and Practice Management Committees. Ms. Hennessy spent a significant amount of her time counseling and coaching individual attorneys concerning career strategies.  She was a member of the Professional Development Consortium, a national membership organization of individuals in law firms, corporations and government agencies responsible for attorney training.  She has been active in the Boston Lawyers Group, an organization of law firms and corporate and government legal offices devoted to enhancing the success of attorneys of color in Boston. Ms. Hennessy graduated summa cum laude from Boston College and received a JD degree, cum laude, from Harvard Law School in 1987.  She began her career as a litigation and health care associate with Choate, Hall & Stewart.  She subsequently held the position of Associate General Counsel of Partners HealthCare System, a health care delivery system consisting of Massachusetts General Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Hospital.  She also served as a Division Counsel for Fresenius Medical Care, North America.  Ms. Hennessy is admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and before the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts.  She serves as a corporator of Family Service of Greater Boston and volunteer for South Shore Elder Services. back to top Jin-Kyung (Kay) Kim, Esq. Ms. Kim, a VMCG consultant for six years, has worked with a broad range of VMCG clients. In her legal career prior to joining VMCG, Ms. Kim was an equity partner at the Boston law firm of Testa, Hurwitz & Thibeault, LLP, a 300-plus attorney firm, for approximately seven years. Ms. Kim assisted a wide variety of employers with equal employment opportunity and discrimination issues and cases since 1986 as a management-side labor and employment lawyer. She provided advice on decreasing the risk of employment litigation, including devising strategies to increase diversity, and conducting training programs for executives, managers and other employees regarding equal employment opportunity. She also engaged in extensive public speaking on employment law. Ms. Kim served as the law firm's Hiring Partner for two years, and served on the firm's Recruiting Committee for nine years. As Hiring Partner, she was responsible for hiring and recruiting law students into the firm's summer program, and hiring third-year law students as incoming associates. Both before and as Hiring Partner, she conducted training programs at the firm regarding appropriate and productive hiring and recruiting practices. While practicing law, Ms. Kim assisted law firms in the recruitment and retention of attorneys of color by serving on the Executive Committee of The Boston Law Firm Group, a consortium of the largest firms in Boston committed to increasing the representation of attorneys of color. Ms. Kim graduated from the University of Chicago Law School and received a Bachelor of Arts degree, magna cum laude, from Wellesley College. back to top Ms. Laurie Margoles Laurie Margolies has been a Vernā Myers Consulting Group (VMCG) Senior Consultant for a year. However, she has consulted with law firms, professional services organizations and corporations for eleven years.  Prior to providing external consultation Ms. Margolies worked for several years at Digital Equipment Corporation, where she held various roles including Corporate Employee Relations Program Manager.  In that role she was responsible for the Corporate Life Balance Strategy as well as managing the HIV/AIDS Program Office and creating a Revitalization strategy following organizational restructuring. Prior to her corporate roles, Laurie was the Dean of Students at Wheelock College, in Boston, and an Assistant Dean of Students at Wheaton College, also in Massachusetts. Laurie began her career as a college teacher. Her work has included: Designed and implemented a comprehensive assessment and strategies that identified and successfully addressed issues affecting women’s advancement in law environments. Provided diversity and sexual harassment prevention training in a variety of industry settings. Facilitated conflict resolution through team building effort in law firm and corporate setting. Provided ongoing, long-term consultation on issues of diversity, inclusion and women’s advancement. Conducted long-term, one-on-on coaching 􀀻 Advised managing partners on the impact and importance of inclusion on law firm long term success. Facilitated off site meetings in support of strategic, organizational goals. Conducted leadership audits to identify areas for growth within organizations Ms. Margolies has held and continues to hold several non-profit board positions. She is co-chair of the Program Committee of the Northeast Human Resources Association annual Convention for 2006 and 2007. Laurie is a native New Yorker, who received her Bachelor degree from Tufts University and a Masters Degree from Boston University. back to top Douglas C. Reynolds, Esq. Mr. Reynolds, Esq. has worked as a VMCG consultant for four years in law firms, government law departments and law schools on assessment, planning and training efforts. He served three years on the Boston Bar Association Diversity Committee and five years on the Retention Subcommittee of The Boston Lawyers Group, a consortium of Boston firms seeking to increase the diversity of their lawyer members and employees. For over a decade, he served as a founding and active member of Belmont Against Racism, Inc., a community organization addressing racism and prejudice, and New England Alliance of Multiracial Families, Inc., providing support for, and public education about multiracial families. Mr. Reynolds is a principal and founding member of The New Law Center, LLC, a law, dispute resolution and management consulting practice in Newton, Massachusetts. He has practiced law for more than 30 years in corporate, finance and real estate areas. Mr. Reynolds is active in the emerging practices of Collaborative Law and Restorative Justice. At Peabody & Arnold LLP in Boston, Mr. Reynolds was a member of the management committee (5 years) and Chair of its Business Law Department (5 years). He led initiatives in marketing, planning and training, and he launched the firm's successful diversity initiative. Mr. Reynolds has written, spoken and led bar association programs on law practice management. Mr. Reynolds is a graduate of Boston University School of Law and Dartmouth College. back to top Ms. Comma L. Williams  Comma L. Williams, M.Ed., is a Senior Consultant with Vernā Myers Consulting Group, LLC. She has been consulting in training and organizational development for more than twenty years. Comma has worked in a variety of industries including health care, high tech, state government, human services, and higher education.  Comma specializes in the design and delivery of culturally-conscious customer service initiatives, workforce diversity and cross-cultural competence, leadership and team development, competency development, performance management, and organizational effectiveness.  She has a reputation as a master trainer-of-trainers.   As a Senior Organization Development Consultant with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care (HPHC), Comma worked extensively with the Office of Diversity.  She has facilitated numerous Diversity and Inclusion Workshops. She has done extensive work in developing cultural competencies for clinicians and their supporting staff.  While with HPHC, Comma led the production of a nine-minute video highlighting the business imperative for Diversity and Inclusion. As a Senior Consultant, she developed and delivered trainings on Gay and Lesbian health care issues, and co-founded the Health Triangle - HPHC's Gay/Lesbian/Bisexual/Transgender employee organization.   Comma has a Master of Education Degree in Instructional Design.  She believes that the most effective learning situations are experiential, fun, and practical.  These core components are intrinsic to every session Comma designs and facilitates.  Comma is also a certified S.U.N. Success Coach, a Visionary Bodywork Practitioner (Shiatsu and Cranio-Sacral), and an initiated shamanic healer. back to top