Vernetta Walker, J.D., is president and CEO of Walker & Associates Consulting, Inc., specializing in customized solutions for nonprofit organizations to maximize impact through exceptional leadership and creating equitable organizations. Vernetta has deep experience in the nonprofit sector, having worked with hundreds of organizations over two decades, nationally and globally. Prior roles include serving as chief governance officer and senior advisor on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) for BoardSource, the leading organization for nonprofit governance best practices; associate general counsel for the Maryland Association of Nonprofit Organizations; foundation advocacy counsel for the Alliance for Justice; and director of the Administration of Justice Grants for the Florida Bar Foundation. Vernetta also practiced law as a litigator for several years, before pursuing her passions in the third sector.
Recent DEI engagements include, but are not limited to:
- National Association of Community Health Centers – DEI: Exploring Board Strategies
- Feeding America – Reconciling EDI, Values, Good Intentions, and Impact
- Carnegie Endowment for International Peace – DEI strategy consulting
- Infectious Diseases Society of America – comprehensive DEI strategy development for professional society
- NeighborWorks America – Race, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion consulting and training
- The Ringling Museum – DEI strategy development
- Rowe Price Nonprofit Symposium, Baltimore, MD – Rethinking Governance and DEI
- Commonfund Institute, Yale University School of Management – The Role of Diversity in High-Performing Boards (panel)
- Gulf Coast Community Foundation – Strong Across the Board: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Nonprofit Governance
Vernetta is an adjunct lecturer at Columbia University where she teaches Governance for Nonprofits, and DEI in Philanthropy and Nonprofits. She received a Juris Doctor degree from Washington University School of Law, St. Louis, Missouri, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland. Vernetta is board chair of March for Our Lives (founded to end gun violence) and serves on the Nonprofit Financial Commons board of directors.