Vera Jones

Trust Your Vision & Play Through the Foul

BOOK VERA

Vera Jones is a Motivational Speaker, Professional Development Coach, Author, Award-Winning Television and Radio Broadcaster, and Syracuse University Hall-of-Fame Scholar-Athlete. She is a relatable and often humorous speaker who thrives on empathy and emotional intelligence to connect and encourage. She is also known for her extensive background in broadcasting, serving over 30 years as a Women’s Basketball Analyst and Reporter for various networks, including ESPN, Fox Sports, Madison Square Garden Network, NBA-TV, and the Big Ten Network.

EXPERT ON
Communication
Empowerment
Adversity
Employees/workforce
Vision/purpose
Teamwork/teambuilding

PROGRAM INFORMATION

PLAY THROUGH THE FOUL™ TEAM BUILDING AND COMMUNICATION TRAINING

PTTF is more than just a brand, it is a life mantra for Vera Jones, who began playing basketball at the age of 5. The life lessons sport has taught Vera in her endeavors as a player, a coach, and a broadcaster set the stage for her becoming the thought leader and orator she is today. It was learning to play through so many of life’s fouls that inspired Vera to share those lessons with the world in her first book “Play Through the Foul – Basketball Lessons for the Game of Life,” and on stage to audiences across the globe. They are lessons grounded in faith, vision, unity, passion, perseverance, and purpose. Vera will customize the message for the client’s specific needs.

DIVERSITY TRAINING WITH THE “DIVERSITY DUO”

Vera Jones has joined forces with Dr. Rebecca Heiss to enhance Play Through the Foul Team Building and Communication Training.  Known as The Diversity Duo, these incredibly talented ladies combine Coach Jones’s sports-infused, empathic leadership training platform with Dr. Heiss’s scientific brain research to provide organizations a training team like no other! Specifically designed to overcome the “fouls,” stressors, and biases inherent in interpersonal relationships, Vera and Rebecca have brought their “Win Twin” powers together to provide highly informative, engaging, and empowering training workshops and presentations.  Topics include empathic and scientific grounded solutions for understanding implicit biases, workplace fears and distrust, and communication style conflicts. If you are looking for serious strategies and solutions for tackling tough relational issues like racial, gender, sex, or disabilities biases and insensitivities that tend to permeate and debilitate even the greatest organizations, call the Diversity Duo in black and white to make things go right!

TRUST YOUR VISION

The riveting story of life and leadership lessons a mother learned from her son who lost his sight due to a brain tumor. This is Vera’s signature story of the physical and emotional challenges of a 12-year old son who endured everything from medical trauma to bullying. It is also the daunting, yet sometimes humorous, adventures of a single mom trying to faithfully coach him to overcome his obstacles to win. Guaranteed to leave no dry eye, no untouched heart, this is the biggest reason why Vera is in such high demand as an inspiring motivational speaker. First titled “The Blind CAN Lead the Blind,” in an INBOUND16 speech, it was adapted by Goalcast in October 2017 in a video that instantly went viral. Vera’s passionate presentation has been seen worldwide by tens of millions of viewers and counting! She continues to stir up multiple, powerful emotions in convincing audiences you can overcome adversity if you “Trust Your Vision and Play Through the Foul.”

PREVIOUS NEXT CLOSE THE TEN TURTLE TENETS

“A Keynote for Healing, Health, and Happiness”

Grounded in great anticipation of the release of her new book, “The Ten Turtle Tenets” (Summer 2018) Vera commands the stage to extended standing ovations documenting every wild, crazy, incredulous, and divine encounter with her mother, who Vera happens to believe comes back to life to advise her from time to time as a turtle! Vera weaves principles for life balance and general wellness into ten breathtaking personal narratives, captivating her audience members and leaving them awe-inspired about the endless, fascinating possibilities in life, (including her mother really being a turtle!) Most importantly they are left inspired by how they too have the opportunity to follow the Ten Turtle Tenets to find healing, health, and happiness in their own lives, and to be great messengers and servers of encouragement in the lives of others. It all began with Vera’s prophetic instruction from her mother to “give up basketball, get on the speaker’s circuit, and get on Oprah!” Based on her life’s journey to date, she has every reason to believe in The Ten Turtle Tenets, and her audiences, once they are done laughing and crying, find themselves believing too! Get on board the Turtle Tour! You’re in for the joyride of your life!