Conversations have the power to break down barriers and build bridges across differences. Vernā Myers, a well-regarded DEI Pioneer, CEO of The Vernā Myers Company, and former head of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix, interviews the brightest minds in science, art, and politics about innovations in leadership practices and healing our divided society. Each episode features inspiring information about how people can grow, become more compassionate, and better utilize our human connection.
Building the Room: A Story of Community and Purpose with Dr. Dan Young
In this illuminating episode of Sundays with Vernā, Dr. Dan Young joins the conversation to draw a line most of us never think to draw: the difference between transition and transformation. Transition, he explains, is taking the skills you already have to a new job, a new company, a new address. Transformation is becoming someone you were not before. One is a change of scenery. The other requires you to risk who you are.
Entrepreneur, educator, and founder of TEDx Wilmington and the Ladybug Festival, Dan has spent his life building things that did not exist before he built them. But in this conversation, he traces the inner logic beneath all of it, from a career pivot made on the strength of a single talk to a redefinition of wealth that has nothing to do with money.
Vernā and Dan explore the questions that sit underneath ambition itself: What does it mean to inherit a legacy and feel you can never live up to it? What becomes possible when you stop measuring success by what you accumulate and start measuring it by what you contribute? And what is the real risk, the one we rarely name, of staying somewhere that no longer fits?
They talk about roots and why Dan never left the city that raised him. They talk about amplifying voices that have gone unheard, and why that work matters more now, not less. They talk about what young people actually need from the adults around them, and the misconception about entrepreneurship that keeps good ideas from ever leaving the room.
Through Dan's story, the conversation becomes a meditation on purpose, calling, and what he calls delusional optimism. His life reveals that the most meaningful work is rarely the safest, and that nothing you build alone ever truly gets built.
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For more information on Vernā, visit her website: www.vernamyers.com
To learn about Ladybug Festival: https://www.theladybugfestival.com/
9 Aug 2026
Breaking the Waves: A Story of Transformation with Jane Marie Chen
In this thought-provoking episode of Sundays with Vernā, Jane Marie Chen joins the conversation to explore a question that haunts so many of us: What remains when everything you've built falls away? Author of the bestselling memoir Like a Wave We Break, Chen traces her extraordinary journey from social entrepreneur to someone forced to reckon with the cost of that climb, and ultimately, to discover who she is when all is lost.
With an infant warmer that has saved over one million premature babies, backing from Beyoncé, and recognition from the World Economic Forum, Jane's accomplishments are undeniable. But in this intimate conversation, she ventures deeper into the trauma that fueled her relentless drive, the generational patterns she inherited, and the unexpected freedom that comes when you stop running from yourself.
Vernā and Jane explore the questions high-achievers are afraid to ask: What happens to your identity when everything collapses? What does it really take to break generational patterns? And what does success look like when you finally stop measuring it in impact, accolades, or outcomes?
Through Jane's deeply personal narrative, the conversation becomes a meditation on worth, authenticity, and what we truly owe ourselves. Her story reveals that the real work isn't always visible on a résumé. It's the brave, unglamorous work of coming home to yourself.
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For more information on Vernā, visit her website: www.vernamyers.com
To learn about Jane and Like a Wave We Break: https://www.janemariechen.com/
5 Jul 2026
A Black Family's Story of American History: A Conversation with Jason Green
In this timely episode of Sundays with Vernā, Jason G. Green joins the conversation to explore how one family's story can deepen our understanding of the American story. Inspired by his memoir, Too Precious to Lose, Green traces his family's roots through generations of Black life in rural Maryland, revealing a legacy of resilience, faith, and community that offers a richer understanding of our nation's history.
In the wake of America's 250th anniversary, Vernā and Jason reflect on what it means to move beyond commemoration and into deeper understanding. Together, they examine how the stories we preserve (and those we overlook) shape our national identity, our understanding of freedom, and our vision for the future.
Their conversation explores the enduring influence of family, the power of memory, and the essential role Black Americans have played in shaping the nation's past and present. Through Green's deeply personal narrative, history becomes more than a collection of dates and events; it becomes a living inheritance that challenges us to expand our understanding of who "we" are.
With warmth, honesty, and insight, this episode invites listeners to see America's history not as a finished narrative, but as a tapestry woven from countless individual lives and experiences. As we reflect on the nation's 250-year journey, Jason's story reminds us that honoring our history requires a willingness to embrace its full complexity, and that a stronger future begins with a more complete understanding of our shared past.
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For more information on Vernā, visit her website: www.vernamyers.com
To learn about Jason and Too Precious to Lose: www.jasongerardgreen.com
Who has been a guest on Sundays With Verna
Names identified in recent episode analyses. Showing up to five guests.
Deja Foxx
Charles Duhigg
Patrice Gordon
Reach and audience
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YouTube views
2,371
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
5.0 / 5
9 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
3 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 38 / 100
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