Our Associates

Veronica has been working in the field of DEI training and consulting for thirty years. She started as an apprentice at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where after close to ten years of study, she became a diversity specialist with the California Childcare Health Program, working with early childhood educators serving biracial children and interracial families.

During this time, she served as executive director for I-Pride, Inc., the first and longest running organization advocating for and working to support interracial and intercultural families. Her advocacy included working tirelessly on the inclusion of a multiracial option for the census and related documents. She also worked as a curriculum designer, trainer, and diversity specialist for the Shanti National Training Institute’s HIV/AIDS Peer Education Program, before going on to serve as the volunteer programs manager for Shanti.

In 2002, while at Mills College, Veronica (then Veronica Neal) launched her consulting and higher education teaching career, providing training, facilitation, coaching, and consulting for organizations, small groups, and individuals. Her primary focus was on racial identity development, biracial support and awareness, diversity education, and leading for inclusion. She empowered clients by meeting them wherever they were in their personal journey and building on their knowledge, intuition, and felt sense of social injustice. She then expanded to provide support and encouragement for how best to assess opportunities for change, areas of strength, and practices aligned with full-quality living, rooted in equality and equity. She stepped into the shoes of change agent, equity advocate, community educator, counselor, and truthsayer.

Soon after completing her doctorate, Veronica became the inaugural equity director at De Anza College, setting the tone for equity and inclusion. She led the development of the college’s equity framework, lens, and rubric, in addition to developing infrastructure to deepen institutional equity. Some of the strategic initiatives she piloted have been adopted by other institutions, such as her equity core team model, community conversations, and cultural humility certificate program.

Since establishing APC (originally under a different name) in 2005, Veronica has coached equity leaders and change makers to bring out the best in themselves and their teams through equity-advancing and cultural humility centered initiatives. She also continues as a full-time faculty member, teaching in the International Peace and Conflict Studies Department at De Anza College.

The author of numerous chapters in educational textbooks and an avid scholar and life-long learner, Veronica has just completed her certificate in ethnic studies from San Francisco State University and is completing her certification as a positive psychology practitioner and coach. Her greatest joy and ongoing inspiration is her family, which includes two beautiful children and a wife, whom she calls best friend.