Irma (Ear-ma) H.
Keynote Speaker/Playwright/Solo Performer/Lawyer at Irma Herrera
Diversity/Women Issues
Education: St. Mary's University, San Antonio, TX - University of Notre Dame, South Bend, IN
San Francisco, CA, USA
Biography
Irma Herrera’s 30 years as a civil rights lawyer and her work as a journalist laid the foundation for her career as a solo performer and keynote speaker. Her laugh-out-loud humor and insightful commentary invite audiences to explore the role each of us can play in creating respectful and inclusive environments.
Irma tailors presentations to specific audiences, including keynote addresses, on-stage interviews, panel discussions, and workshops. Among the places where she has presented are the State Bar of California, Meta/Facebook, the SEC, VMware, Pillsbury and O’Melveny law firms, Gannett Newspapers, and Princeton University.
Irma's solo show, Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name?, has been in Nashville's Tennessee Performing Arts Center, the San Francisco Marsh Theater, The Guadalupe Theater in San Antonio, and many other venues.
Passion
My passion is promoting respect, empathy, and inclusion. I love helping people explore how we can be our best selves at home, at work, and in our communities.
Have you seen the bumper sticker that says: Don't Believe Everything You Think? The first time I saw it, I did a double-take. And then I realized it was inviting us to consider whether something we believe about others might, in fact, not be true. Rather than feel guilt and shame about our prejudices and fears -- including such things as sexism, ageism, racism, and homophobia -- what if we explored our blind spots and came to understand how we acquired these views? What purpose have these beliefs served, and do we wish to hold on to them?
Featured Video
I am willing to travel
More than 100 miles
When it comes to payments
I generally get paid for speaking but make exceptions
Topics
Best Story
“Mami, even a man can be a lawyer,” Tony, my six-year-old son, tells me one afternoon.
“Well, of course, he can," I explained, "a man can be anything he wants.”
I was then leading a women’s legal advocacy organization, and all the lawyers in my office were women. He had never met a male lawyer.
I love using this story to remind us that we all have preconceived notions -- biases and prejudices -- both positive and negative. Where did we get these beliefs? What causes us to reconsider our views?
Origin Story
I always questioned unfairness, and I saw it all around me in rural South Texas. Why are things this way? My mother, exasperatedly said “muchacha eres una abogada sin libros.” Who did I think I was, acting like I was some lawyer? That's probably where I got the idea of becoming a lawyer, although I had never known or even seen a lawyer in real life. The civil rights lawyers I saw on TV who challenged segregated schools, employment discrimination, and access to public services inspired me. I became one of them.
I loved my work as an advocate, and I wanted to use my experiences as a lawyer to reach larger audiences interested in fairness and justice. I wrote articles that were published in the NY Times, the Washington Post, Ms. Magazine., and many local and regional newspapers. And then I discovered theater.
Lawyer, journalist, playwright, solo performer -- different ways of working towards the same goal: examining our biases and prejudices and exploring how we can create a better world for ourselves and future generations
Example talks
In My Own Words
1. Reinventing Ourselves
2. Promoting Respectful Work Cultures
3. Connecting the Dots and Finding Common Ground
4. Finding Our Voices: Finding Our Power
5. Courageous Conversations: Understanding the -isms That Corrode Our Souls
6. If Not You, Then Who? Promoting Inclusive Excellence
Testimonials & Reviews
"Beautiful and powerful! Combining humor, personal experience, and childhood memories into a rich narrative about bias and prejudice. Insightful and also highly entertaining. You will not want it to end.” ~B. Kaduk, Morristown, NJ
“I loved Irma and her performance! I could have listened all day. Irma is warm and accessible. Her performance led to a rare opportunity to talk about our experiences with our co-workers, conversations we don’t usually have, and which people everywhere should be having in these tense times. Our small group discussion was great and filled with hope. Brava!”
~Lawyer, Hanson Bridgett Law Firm, San Francisco
"Irma Herrera's one-woman show is an absolute gem that effortlessly weaves a serious story with humor and authenticity. From start to finish, Herrera takes the audience on a captivating journey through the complexities of identity, belonging, and the power of embracing one's roots." ~A. Alvarez, Scottsdale
“Fabulous show! Thank you for all of the poignant and humorous stories. I think we all left with a renewed commitment to evaluating what respect means in our daily lives.” ~K. Karpilow, Sacramento
“Intensely personal . . . moves through space freely and smoothly . . . so many wonderful touchstones dot the piece throughout, helping to shape each moment of her upbringing . . . reflects beautifully what it means to be American.” ~Bay Area Plays
Collaborations
I have presented selected scenes from my play at various ERG meetings, including Gannett Newspapers, Facebook, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and the Northwest Center (Seattle). These frame the group engagement sessions, such as Q&A or panel discussions that follow.
I'm deeply committed to mentoring and often speak to students who participate in college and law school preparedness programs. Throughout my career (law, journalism, theater), I have mentored scores of students, young lawyers, community activists, writers, and academics.
Awards
- Margaret Brent Award - https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/women/
The ABA Commission on Women established the Margaret Brent Award to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of women lawyers around the country who have achieved professional excellence in their field and have paved the way to success for other women lawyers. Margaret Brent was the first woman lawyer in America. She was involved in 124 court cases over 8 years and won every case. In 1648, she formally demanded a “vote and voice” in the Maryland Assembly, which the governor denied. Over 250 years later, Harper’s Magazine noted: “By this action, Margaret Brent undoubtedly placed herself as the first woman in America to stand for the rights of her sex.”
- International Action Network for Gender Equity & Law (IANGEL) - https://www.iangel.org/rights-leadership-2024/
IANGEL’s Rights & Leadership Award honors leaders who have exhibited courage in overcoming injustice, opening doors for women to opportunities that have been historically closed to them, and using advocacy and the rule of law to achieve their goals. The award is named after Amel Zenoune-Zouani, an Algerian law student who was murdered by fundamentalists in 1997 for refusing to give up her studies.
- Equal Rights Advocates (ERA) - https://www.equalrights.org
ERA is one of the nation’s leading organizations advancing women's and girls' legal rights. The Ramey Gender Justice Award recognizes women who have significantly contributed to women’s civil rights.
Press and Interviews
🗞️ Where do we find one's purpose? And how do we follow our dreams? https://boldjourney.com/meet-irma-herrera/
🗞️ What can we do to create organizations that treat everyone with respect and dignity? - Greek University Interview 2024 - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWEHaKdgkbk
🗞️ Latinx Stories Podcast - Episode 225: Why Would I Mispronounce my Own Name? - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/latin-stories-episode-225-why-would-i-mispronounce/id1318838526?i=1000631490214
🗞️ Tennessee Voices: A conversation with Irma Herrera - 2023 https://www.tennessean.com/videos/opinion/columnists/david-plazas/2023/01/17/tennessee-voices-conversation-irma-herrera/11070416002/
🗞️ Irma Herrera talks playwright, importance of embracing one's cultural identity in 'Why Would I Mispronounce My Own Name?' - abc7news - 2019
https://abc7news.com/latino-heritage-month-celebrating-latinos-bay-area-celebrate-community-foundation/5592421/