Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour
America’s First Black Female Combat Pilot
Combat tests you. Being a beat cop tests you. Life tests you. Three brothers and being the only girl…tests you. Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour has been tested her whole life. A gutsy trailblazer, her resume is an impressive collection of “firsts” including America’s first Black woman combat pilot. She served two tours of duty in Iraq as a Marine. She was also a diversity liaison officer to the Pentagon for Headquarters Marine Corps. After her military service, FlyGirl revved up her career in the private sector as an entrepreneur, consultant to business, and author of Zero to Breakthrough, The 7-Step, Battle-Tested Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter.
As a speaker, FlyGirl unleashes hard-hitting advice and amazing anecdotes from her adventures on the battlefield and in business. She helps individuals and organizations Get Gutsy and build a sustainable inner force and conviction, that results in accomplishing significant goals.
Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour’s Demo Reel
In 2007, FlyGirl launched VAI Consulting & Training, LLC. Through that work, she helps individuals and organizations make gutsy moves and create breakthrough results by applying her “Zero to BreakthroughTM” Success Model – a mindset that helped to propel her career and kept her safe in air combat. FlyGirl regularly takes her message to premier meetings and conferences worldwide and is a Gutsy Confidence Mentor for elite senior executive Women in Tech.
As her newest business venture, in 2020 FlyGirl started FlyGirl Construction, a General Contracting Firm in the Atlanta, GA area.
As a Black gay woman and single mom, FlyGirl brings vital experience to her role as a member of the Forbes School of Business & Technology Board of Advisors and COMCAST/NBCUniversal Joint Diversity Council.
FlyGirl has two honorary doctorates and has received numerous awards as a pioneering pilot, including honors for her commanding role in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM).
Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour’s story has been featured in the media including on CNN, MSNBC, The View, FOX News, Oprah Winfrey and many more, along with being a running back for the San Diego Sunfire professional women’s football team and two-time title holder of Camp Pendleton’s Strongest Warrior Competition.
She is currently working on her next book, The Gutsy Move.
Partial Client List:
- American Airlines
- Anheuser-Busch
- AT&T
- Bank of America
- Boeing Company
- Capella University
- Church’s Chicken
- Corning, Inc.
- Delta Airlines
- Element
- Ernst & Young
- Evanta
- FedEx
- Frito Lay
- Goldman, Sachs & Co.
- Hershey Company
- Iron Mountain
- Kimberly-Clark
- McDonald’s
- NASA
- PepsiCo
- Pfizer
- Stanford Women in Business
- U.S. Air Force
- U.S. Dept of Veterans Affairs
- U.S. Navy
- United Negro College Fund
- United Way
- Verizon
- Wal-Mart
- Wells Fargo
Gutsy Leaders create Gutsy Teams that make Gutsy Moves. They’re proactive – not reactive; and create the future by summoning the courage to adapt and align. Drawing on her trailblazing career as a U.S. Marine combat helicopter pilot, Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour unloads valuable lessons learned under the most stressful of circumstances – about leadership, teamwork, resilience, communication, execution, and building a culture of unshakable trust. FlyGirl’s storytelling lights up people’s imaginations – showing them new ways to achieve more than they ever thought possible.
SAMPLE TAKEAWAYS
- How to build trust: Get everyone to step up, engage, and collaborate
- Get personal: Learn each person’s skills, talents & hidden passions
- Ways to unleash your diversity to strengthen the bottom line
- Disrupt traditional metrics of success (measure more than money)
- Learn when to plant and when to pivot in order to adapt-at-speed
- Create a culture that attracts and retains the best talent
How you react to personal and professional obstacles, adversity, and disappointment is a choice. It also determines your future. Black, female, gay, and a child of divorce, Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour learned this early in her pioneering journey from motorcycle cop to the Marines to becoming America’s first Black female combat pilot. FlyGirl’s energy rocks the house as she recounts for audiences her challenges, adventures, and ultimate triumph. Her authenticity, enthusiasm, and positivity inspire people to Get Gutsy and finally reimagine what’s possible.
SAMPLE TAKEAWAYS
- 7-step process to shatter limiting beliefs and unleash breakthroughs
- Replace a self-defeating “Zero Mentality” with a winning “Breakthrough Mentality”
- How to avoid burnout and keep moving forward
- Delay is not Denial, and to Retreat does not mean Defeat
- Tactics to ignite your passion and design the path to your dreams
Helicopter pilots spring into action from where they are. They don’t need a runway. It’s their edge in battle. Marine chopper pilot Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour believes this metaphor is perfect for uncertain times where speed and agility are survival skills. FlyGirl fires up audiences with her energy and storytelling – relating hard-learned lessons with tactics for quickly adapting to the forces of change. This presentation is perfect for audiences navigating uncertainty or looking to accomplish audacious goals. FlyGirl will spark their courage and enthusiasm.
SAMPLE TAKEAWAYS
- Recognize and take decisive action to capitalize on defining moments
- No situation is ever perfect – gain momentum from where you are
- The three-step plan: Decide, Commit, and Execute…at speed
- Recognize and harness the talents of everyone around you
- How to create a “Zero to Breakthrough” culture
It’s time! This is about coming together – working to create an equitable culture for employees, stakeholders, and customers. A place where ALL can feel like they belong and are part of the team. It starts by establishing rules of engagement for civil, productive conversations that find solutions – not fault. Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour was a diversity officer for U.S. Marine Corps HQ; its liaison to the Pentagon. As a gay Black woman she brought valuable personal experience to her work. She learned: When you bring people together, their differences can result in tension…THIS IS NORMAL! How you MANAGE that diversity is the key!
SAMPLE TAKEAWAYS
- Create a culture that values and respects all team members
- Why it’s time to turn THE Conversation into a NEW Conversation
- Ways to face uncomfortable issues without playing ostrich
- How to prevent a counter-productive herd mentality
- Set an example of civility and motivate people to respond in kind
Testimonial:
Adam Contos, Former CEO of ReMax
Adam Contos, Former CEO of ReMax
Franchise Speakers
