Verna Brown

Verna is a senior consultant with Workforce Innovations and Poverty Solutions, focusing on disaster recovery and workforce innovation solutions. She has more than 30 years of experience in national and international hospitality and human resource management with vast knowledge in designing recruitment strategies.

Verna develops and manages work-based learning opportunities for participants including on-the-job training, internships, and customized training and registered apprenticeships.

Prior to joining ICF, Verna was a result-driven professional with The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company. She conducted a long-term strategic commitment to talent acquisition, customized training, hiring, onboarding, and comprehensive on-the-job training for eligible dislocated workers in the Virgin Islands uprooted by Hurricanes Irma and Maria in 2017.

She also established working relationships with community-based organizations, helped implement strategies for youth and adults to successfully transition from school to competitive employment and adult life, ultimately addressing workforce shortages.

Verna has received numerous acknowledgments, including Marriott International's HR Hero Award, Quarter Century Club, Leader of the Quarter, and 5-Star Award. She was also awarded Atlanta Magazine Woman of the Week (2004), Who’s Who in Black Atlanta (2002/03), and U.S. Virgin Islands Governor Appointed Workforce Investment Board member from 2013-2016.

Verna received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from Albany State University where she attended under a full athletic scholarship which further granted her the opportunity to play professional basketball in France.