LaVerne McLeod is the founder and facilitator of Bridge Building to Equity Workshops under her sole proprietor business, Purple Feather Press. Based on her childhood rearing as an African American in the South, she authored a Civil Rights-era novel called Corn Hollow, a historical fiction published in 2016. McLeod is a public speaker, author, workshop facilitator, and theatrical presenter. Some of her speaker venues include Monterey Peninsula College, Monterey Museum of Art as part of its lecture series, San Jose State University for her TEDx talk, and others. She has taught middle grades in public schools, at a private Montessori school, and as a teacher/supervisor at Esalen Institute’s Gazebo school. LaVerne has also been a public school counselor. She loves community volunteer work. Her passions are social and climate justice. Currently, she serves as co-coordinator of Big Sur Advocates for a Green Environment. Her second book, The Crossroads of Social and Climate Justice, a nonfiction story, was released in September 2022. LaVerne holds a bachelor’s degree in education and a Master of Arts degree in counselor education from Southeast Missouri State University with continuing education work from San Jose State University.

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