Life is full of tests and Vernice “FlyGirl” Armour wants to give people tools to pass the tests and do it well.
Venice is a trailblazer, achieving a number of firsts including America’s first black female combat pilot. She is a Marine with two tours of duty in Iraq and was a diversity liaison officer to the Pentagon for Headquarters Marine Corps.
She flew into another career as an entrepreneur and business consulter after completing her military service. She is also the author of Zero to Breakthrough, the 7-Step, Battle-Testing Method for Accomplishing Goals that Matter.
Venice, who was born in Chicago and grew up in Memphis, is a hard-hitting speaker offering both incredible stories and advice that covers both the battlefield and business. Her keynote speeches leave people empowered to achieve past their comfort zones. She delivers her inspirational message to conferences and premier meetings globally and is a Gutsy Confidence Mentor for elite senior executive Women in Tech.
Venice launched VAI Consultant & Training LLC in 2007 where she helps both organizations and individuals master breakthroughs applying her success model. It’s a mindset that kept her safe in combat and propelled her career.
She has two honorary doctorates and numerous awards as a pilot. This includes honors for her roles in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM). She is also on the Forbes School of Business & Technology Board of Advisors and Comcast/NBCUniversal Joint Diversity Council.
She was also a running back for the San Diego Sunfire professional women’s football team and a two-time title holder of Camp Pendleton’s Strongest Warrior Competition.
Venus has been featured on MSNBC, CNN, Fox News, The View and Oprah Winfrey. Her story is one of always wanting to serve in law enforcement and joining the Army ROTC program at Middle Tennessee State University, where she decided she wanted to be a pilot. She worked for a brief time in college as a Nashville Sheriff’s Department correctional officer and took time off from college to join the Nashville Police Academy, where she became the first woman of color on the department’s motorcycle squad.
She graduated from college with a bachelor’s degree in physical education with an emphasis on exercise science. The next year, she was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Marine Corps.
