The Reverend Unnia L. Pettus, Ph.D., is an ordained Christian ministry leader, best-selling author, adjunct professor, and entrepreneur. She is the Founder and CEO of Nobody But God Ministries and Pettus PR, LLC, both based in Washington, D.C. She received her license to preach the gospel on October 25, 1998, after her initial sermon at East Friendship Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., under the leadership of Senior Pastor Jonathan Bennett. She was the first woman to be licensed in the church’s 58 years of ministry. She served in several leadership roles there, including Associate Minister, Director of the Youth Ministry, Sunday School Teacher, and Assistant to the Senior Pastor.

She was ordained in 2001, and God called her to become the Founder and CEO of Nobody But God Ministries in 2007. Through this outreach ministry, she shares the Gospel of Jesus Christ to win souls for salvation, and she helps domestic violence victims and their children by connecting them with services that address their trauma, safety, shelter, and recovery.

She graduated from The Academy of Notre Dame, a D.C. all-girls Catholic high school, with a perfect 4.0 Grade Point Average (GPA) in May 1986. She received her B.A. degree in Broadcast Journalism with Summa Cum Laude Honors from Howard University’s School of Communications in May 1990. She received her M.A. degree in Public Communications with Summa Cum Laude Honors from American University in May 1995. She received her Ph.D. in Mass Communications from the University of Maryland, College Park, in May 2003. She completed her Cognate Coursework for her Ph.D. at Howard University’s School of Divinity.

Miraculously, she has survived four different cancers over 23 years: Stage 4 colon cancer (2004), endometrial cancer (2018), and kidney and breast cancer (2019-2021) due to her genetic family history. She survived a stroke with right-side paralysis. After paralysis for nearly two years, God returned her full ability to walk. She still has irreversible memory loss. She is also a domestic violence survivor. She silently endured emotional, verbal, and physical violence in her six-year marriage to her ex-husband, who was also her pastor.

Dr. Pettus began her full-time teaching career as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Mass Communications at Bowie State University in 2003. She has taught undergraduate and graduate courses in Public Relations, Strategic Communications, Marketing, and Entrepreneurship for 10 years at Howard University’s Cathy Hughes School of Communications. She has also taught M.B.A. graduate courses as an Adjunct Faculty Member at Strayer University.