Places I've Lived

Born on the East Coast, Raised on the West Coast. Live in San Francisco with stints in Los Angeles, England, and Iceland.

getaway car

A white and red Vespa 

last book i reread

East of Eden by John Steinbeck

Verna means...

Latin for "springtime" and Sanskrit for "burst of color."

Hi, I'm Verna.

I’m entranced by people: the things we do, why we do them, and how we react to the world around us… and then, how quickly we all can evolve, change and adapt.

How did I get here? After studying Sociology and English at UCLA, I learned about tech and product operations at Google. Then, I managed and replicated a new role in advertising, branding, and marketing at Coca-Cola. I noticed the tension between the design and business worlds, and constantly fought to weave these processes together. After all, powerful brand experiences come to life when we consider the full ecosystem of a product or service.

So I headed to California College of the Arts to explore how to connect, create, and build better systems. While immersing myself in my MFA Design and MBA in Design Strategy, I began to build a new language... design became the catalytic expression of great strategy, and intelligent and ethnographic strategy built the foundation for meaningful and intuitive design. And it's unlocked some great experiences since then. 

This is what drives me to straddle the line between the analytical and the conceptual. I get to relish in being a sociologist, a philosopher, a strategist, an inventor, and an artist all at the same time. 

Maybe you’re also trying to look past the boundaries we’ve all created? Maybe you, like me, want to unlock more powerful and genuine experiences, by finding the constellations and connection points in our existence? If you do, I’d love to talk to you about it.