Verlia Josette Reed-Byrd, M.S., ABA
MasterMinds Educational Consulting

Verlia J. Reed-Byrd is the last person you’d expect to find in education. A trained journalist, graduating from The University of Houston Jack J. Valenti School of Communication, she resisted the call to join education for fear of falling into “the trap” - wearing your heart on your sleeve, trying to save each student, while earning pennies as a degreed professional.
After over a decade of success in print journalism, Verlia could no longer resist the call of God on her life to join the ranks of her family and mentor/educate today’s youth. During a time of prayer and confirmation, she literally read in scripture that she must ‘teach, teach, teach, teach.” Upon immediate entry into the field of education, Verlia received nominations for notable school and district leadership positions. She trained under the foremost leaders of education in Cognitive Coaching, Classroom Management, Social Emotional Learning, Restorative Justice, Behavior Interventions and Empathic Leadership.
Her experiences have shaped her passion as she serves as CEO of MasterMinds Educational Consulting. In this position, Verlia impacts dozens of superintendents, hundreds of administrators and teachers and thousands of students across the nation through professional development, educational training and classroom coaching – transforming careers and fostering teacher retention. Her methodologies preserve teacher-student-administrator relationships, lead to higher tests scores and positive school culture.

Her motto, “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.” ― Aristotle