Our Story

In the 1990s, Deisha Barnett was a high school student who boldly proclaimed she would lead communications in a major corporation one day. Today, she is president of global communications at the world’s largest logistics company—a role she proudly holds as a result of education, talent, hard work and lots of mentorship from her parents and seasoned leaders who took time to pour into her dream.

With this in mind, Deisha has made mentorship a priority as she build teams, drives results and grows her network of rising communications leaders around the world. In 2021, she decided to take her commitment to mentorship to the next level outside of work and For The Ambitious Only, LLC (FTAO) was born.

FTAO was created from a love for connecting with talented people and sharing wisdom. This circle proudly centers the experiences of Black and Brown leaders and aims to help leaders expand their professional networks, build community and find inspiration.

Today, FTAO has more than 300 diverse mentees across the U.S. who gather once a month to invest in themselves and their careers. FTAO community members represent more than 90 companies and nonprofits. Countless gems have been dropped during curated conversation, dozens of job opportunities have been shared and deserving mentees have made connections through FTAO that led to new roles and career growth.

Past FTAO guest mentors include:

  • Dr. Carol E. Henderson, Emory University
  • Lori George, The Coca-Cola Company
  • Madeline Chadwick, Papa Johns International
  • Janaye Ingram, Airbnb
  • Damon Jones, Chief Communications Officer, P&G
  • Soon Mee Kim, Chief Diversity Officer, Omnicom
  • Betsy Talton, VP Corporate Communications, Delta Airlines
  • Andrew McCaskill, Communications, LinkedIn
  • Dave Tovar, Chief Communications Officer, GrubHub
  • Keyra Lynn Johnson, Chief Diversity Officer, Delta
  • Vanessa Wallace, Head of Brand, Nike Air Jordan
  • Yanique Woodall, VP of Communications, Customer Experience and Retail, CVS Health
  • Jewel Wicker, Award-winning Entertainment and Culture Reporter
  • Kali Beyah, Chief People and Brand Officer, Evolent Health
  • Heather Woodard, Director of External Communication & Community Impact, H&R Block
  • Bao Ngyuen, Director of Communications, Netflix
  • Daphne Dickerson, VP Global Communications, UPS

Join the mentoring circle here.