Krishana is a graduate of Hampton University where she received a bachelor’s degree in accounting.  She is now working toward an MBA at Keller Graduate School of Management (through DeVry) in Capitol City, Virginia.

Having a keen interest in math during her high school days at Dr. Phillips is partly responsible for Krishana current position at Turner Construction.  She is a coft engineer, which means she handles budget, forecasting and auditing. 

Having been with Turner Construction for only three years, Krishana is off to a running start.  In 2006 she received the 2006 Staff Award, which is the highest award that one can receive within the company.  She has added value to the company in many ways––her leadership ability is one of the qualities that stands out in her performance with the company.

One of the things that Krishana likes most about her company is that they value their employees.  Says she, “Although Turner is a large corporation, I feel that I am valued.”

As our conversation turned toward how she got started with Turner, she said that she did her internship with the company and added that nepotism is not a problem there.  However, it does not mean that one does not have to go through the interview process.  That’s where she had to stand her own ground and prove herself worthy.  However, her mother, Vernice Atkins-Bradley, had some influence simply by suggesting person to whom she should speak inside the company.

“It’s a good feeling,” said Krishana, I have some big shoes to fill, but it feels good.  When I run into problems, I can always get feedback from my mother.”

One of the things that Krishana enjoys most about Turner Construction is its diversity.  She believes that she has learned a lot because of her exposure to multiple cultures. 
Krishana has come in contact with at least four Hampton graduates who also work at Turner Construction.  Since they are the same age, they have become friends and have begun to “hang out” together, she said.

Krishana enjoys quiet time for her reading.  She is becoming more involved with her church as well as community service, which she plans to step us a notch.  She also enjoys traveling.

One day, Krishana hopes to have as much attached to her service at Turner as does her mother.  At age 25, one can only ssume that she will be the executive that she hopes to be –– rising high in the rank of the Turner Construction Corporation.

Vernice Atkins-Bradley is the perfect role model for her children––an example of how mothers sometimes have to struggle and do the unusual in order to inspire their children to do the right thing.  In the case of Vernice Atkins-Bradley and her two children, it all paid off in the end. 

Some of Vernice's fondest memories are when she lived with her grandparents, Mary and Jesse Love, on their 40-plus acre farm in Alabama. During the time, while her mother was seeking work in Pensacola, Florida, Vernice was surrounded by the loving example of her grandparents who taught her the benefits of working hard to accomplish a goal.

Each year at the farm, there would be a reunion where all of the Love children and grandchildren would gather. There, Vernice and her cousins would pick peas, cucumbers and corn, etc. There was enough for all of the families to have vegetables for the coming year. 

Vernice remembers, "My grandfather was short in height but a man of great stature.  He was very involved in the community and a helpful farmer. His word was the law on his land, but at the same time he was very loving and protective of his family. We were all very impressed with him. One day I was in the barn shucking corn and a corn snake appeared.  Before I knew it, grandfather snatched the snake with his bare hand and twisted off its head! He was a very brave man." 

Vernice enjoyed watching Perry Mason with her grandparents at a very young age.  She would always solve the case before the end of the show, and it was during those times that Vernice realized that she wanted to be a lawyer, and her grandparents encouraged her in that endeavor.

After completing the 4th grade, Vernice moved to Pensacola to be with her mother, Luberta, father, Matthew, 3 brothers – Kevin, Christopher and Marcus, and 3 sisters – Schara, Yelonda and Tammy.

As the oldest child, her parents assigned her to watch over her brothers and sisters.  Vernice took the responsibility seriously. When a bully picked on one of her brothers, Vernice applied some wrestling tricks she learned from her uncles, defeated him and became the neighborhood hero. She remembers begin pretty strict with her siblings. It must have paid off, because today her brothers and sisters are all successful in their own right with various management occupations ranging from banking, buying, medicine and more. 

Vernice attended Escambia High School, where she made good grades and was offered a tuition only scholarship in engineering to attend Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.  But, she could not afford to go away to school, so she enrolled in Pensacola Junior College as a political science major – she had not given up the dream of one day becoming a lawyer.

However, Vernice put her dreams to be a lawyer on hold when she fell in love, married, and moved to Orlando and had her first child – Jerry Jr. Although she says that moving to Orlando with a young child and no support system was a bit scary, she made friends quickly. She found a job at Legal Services as a receptionist. Six months later, she was promoted to a paralegal. She represented clients in administrative cases involving housing, social security, public assistance and unemployment compensation. This experience caused her to realize that “when you see people that are less fortunate, it really makes you appreciate your blessings and that you need to help those less fortunate so that your time on earth is not used in vain.” Three years later her daughter, Krishana, was born. 

Vernice’s next job was with the City of Orlando, where she worked as a Business Development Specialist for the Minority and Women Business Department. She had found a new interest –– helping minority and women business owners grow and develop their companies through the city’s economic opportunities and training programs.

While at the City, Vernice applied for a management position. She made the short list but did not get the job, because she did not have a four-year college degree, even though her work experience was more extensive than the other candidates and she also had an associate degree.  This was her wake up call. Although her marriage had recently failed and she had two children to support, Vernice realized that she needed to complete her undergraduate degree if she wanted to advance and provide a good life for her children and help others. While working full time, she finished her bachelor’s degree in legal studies at the University of Central Florida.

Though working full-time and going to school, Vernice made sure that her children were not neglected. As her mother had taught her, she believed that her children needed a well-balanced home cooked meal to develop properly. Therefore, each night after class, she would prepare Jerry Jr. and Krishana’s dinners. This made life more manageable for the next day; when she got off work, she would pick up her children, microwave their prepared dinner, and place them in the back seat of her car where they would eat while she drove to class. 

Once in class, the children would sit outside of her classroom to do their homework, and during class breaks, Vernice would check their homework. Her children were very popular with the teachers and her classmates, who would play with them and helped to look after them. 

Vernice’s commitment to education obviously made an impression on her children. Jerry Jr., a National Merit Scholar who graduated as a Computer  Engineer at Florida A & M University, speaks fluent Japanese and received a Rotary Scholarship to spend one year in Japan as a foreign exchange student prior to attending college.

Krishana, who graduated from Hampton University in Accounting and now lives in Alexandria, Virginia says, “My mother has taught me that no matter where I go or what I choose to do, I must always put God first … [and] to always be an assertive woman who should never settle for mediocrity … if I am drifting towards that direction, she says, ‘Krissy, you know God has Blessed you too much to just lie there. GET UP! And Do Something, read a book, don't just sit there and waste your talents. Gee, if I had done something more with the talents God gave me, who knows what I could've done. That's why I want you to do and be all you can, because I don't want you to waste yours.’  My brother and I are very proud to call her our mother.”

Shortly before leaving the City, Derwin Bradley, a friend and Police Office with the City of Orlando, introduced to Vernice to his brother, Junius Bradley, Jr., who was living in Stuttgart, Germany at the time. Junius, retired military and owner of a security and investment firm, asked her to marry him after only six  months of dating long distance.

Vernice was attracted to his loving kind spirit, knowledge of the world, and of course his muscular physique. She recalls, “He was the perfect gentleman.”  Even after 12 plus years he still opens her car door and will not let her lift anything heavy. They will celebrate 13 years of marriage in November.

In 1994 Vernice joined the architectural-engineering firm of Black and Veatch. As Senior contract Administrator.  Her duties were to ensure that minority and women-owned business had the opportunity to work on the new Stanton Energy Plant. 

When the project ended, she joined the Minority and Women Business Alliance as Vice President while fulfilling her dream to become a lawyer – she was enrolled in Barry University College of Law in Orlando. Vernice was awarded a Law degree in 2001. Vernice states that law school was very difficult – trying to balance life, husband, teenage children and work, while committed to each of these areas in her life. 

Many times she drove home from her classes in tears, wondering what she had gotten herself into.  She believes that her strong faith in God and their many talks got her successfully through that period of her life.  One of her favorite Bible verses is Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”

During Vernice’s last semester of law school, she was approached by Turner Construction to join their firm as a Contract Administrator. Vernice is now Director of Community Affairs and Business Development for the Orlando Business Unit of Turner.  She is the only African American and female department head for the company’s Central and North Florida’s operations where she blends her business experience with her passion for the community in a way that is fulfilling for her and just as rewarding for the company.  In fact, her business development efforts for Turner since joining in 2000 have led to more than $700 million in new projects. These include the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena, the Florida A&M School of Law, City of Jacksonville Courthouse,  City of Daytona Cypress Recreational, and several projects with the public school systems of Orange, Osceola, and Polk Counties..

Scott Skidelsky, Vice President and General Manager, states that Vernice has exceeded all of Turner’s expectations. “When we approached her for the position, we were looking for a community leader. Someone who would serve as a customer advocate for our many projects, to make sure that, we deliver what we promised and also that we have made a friend of that customer. Turner Construction is committed to giving back to the community and Vernice makes sure that it is done in the most effective way.” Scott continues, “The Jacksonville Arena project is a good example of how Vernice’s expertise has benefited Turner Construction.  They were looking for a community-based team and Vernice put together the team required to win that project.”

Vernice also enjoys being able to use the relationships she has developed throughout her career to guide Turner’s efforts to help the Orlando community.   She has significantly increased the number of contracts with minority and women-owned businesses and has implemented a “Best in Class” Turner Construction Management Training Program in Orlando and Jacksonville and soon to be expanded to other areas of the state.  This program, in partnership with the Minority and Women Business Enterprise Alliance, City of Orlando and others, has helped to educate more than 600 employees of small, minority and women-owned businesses.

Vernice is particularly proud of the company’s work with several minority and women owned general contractors and construction management firms like HZ Construction, CES, Albu & Associates, MCD, NuJak, IROK, TDS and particularly PSA Constructors, Inc., an African-American-owned construction firm in which she helped with starting and once was employed as a contract manager. By partnering with PSA on a number of high-profile projects, she says, Turner has helped the company grow from three employees to over 30. She expects the Orlando office’s new YouthForce 20/20 partnership with Jones High School and other high schools to be another showcase program in the future. The program is geared to helping the schools improve their grade on Florida’s Comprehensive Assessment Test by allowing selected students to participate in a wide-ranging program that will help them to develop leadership skills and become more disciplined in studying.

Vernice is also proud of the fact that the company’s profile locally as a good corporate citizen has raised  under her leadership. “Turner has always done quite a bit to support the Central Florida community, but that work wasn’t noticed as well as it is now,” she says. The office has received six awards from the community since 2002. Her work has also been honored; she has received numerous community awards and several other awards to include the Orlando Business Journal’s “Business Executive of the Year” award in 2005, Summit Award presented by Women Resources Center and the “Leadership Award” from the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials to name a few.

Vernice feels that “to whom much is given, much is required.”  This belief and her generous nature is why she has performed countless hours of community service in a wide array of organizations throughout Central Florida.  She currently serves on many boards of community organizations, including the Professional Opportunities Program for Students, the American Red Cross of Central Florida, the Orlando Shakespeare Theater, Downtown Development Board, Orlando Housing Finance Authority and Orange County Code Enforcement just to name a few.

 In her spare time, Vernice enjoys spending time with her husband, family and friends, particularly, Joyce DyeAnn, and Angela.  But she never looses focus on continuing to educate herself and keeping abreast of the corporate world.  Says she,  “In fact, last year, I took and passed the Sate of Florida’s General Contractors exam.”

One can expect to hear a lot from Vernice and her daughter in the years ahead.