The Reverend Unnia L. Pettus, Ph.D., is an ordained ministry leader, an author, an adjunct professor, and an entrepreneur. She is the Founder and CEO of Nobody But God Ministries and Pettus PR, 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 as an associate minister, the Director of the Youth Ministry, and an Assistant to the Pastor at East Friendship Baptist Church.

She was ordained in 2003, 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. 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-girl catholic high school, with a 4.0 Grade Point Average (G.P.A.) 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 at College Park in May 2003. She completed her Cognate Coursework for her Ph.D. at Howard University in the School of Divinity.

She received the “2023 Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award,” bestowed by U.S. President Joseph Biden. This award recognizes her documented volunteer service of 4,000 hours or more as a stroke, domestic violence, and four-time cancer survivor turned advocate.

Miraculously, she has survived four different cancers: colon cancer (2003), uterine cancer (2018), and kidney and breast cancer (2019-2021) due to her genetic family history. She is also a stroke survivor with right-side paralysis and a domestic violence survivor. She silently endured emotional, verbal, and physical violence in her six-year marriage to her ex-husband.

Dr. Pettus began teaching as a tenure-track Assistant Professor of Mass Communications at Bowie State University. As an adjunct faculty member, she has taught undergraduate and graduate PR, marketing, and entrepreneurship courses at Howard University, her alma mater, and the Cathy Hughes School of Communications for ten years. She has also taught M.B.A. graduate courses at Strayer University.

She is the author of “Nobody But God: A Journey of Faith From Tears To Triumph” (2007), a co-author of “Mr. President: Interfaith Perspectives on the Historic Presidency of Barack H. Obama” (2017), the co-editor and wrote “The Foreward” in “Ofield: The Autobiography of Public Relations Man Ofield Dukes (2017), her mentor. In addition, she is a co-author of the “Joy 365 Devotional” (2024) and a co-author of the “Daily Dose of Prayer Devotional” (2024), both 2024 Amazon best-selling books.

She has received numerous awards for her ministry and advocacy work, such as the “2021 Pink Star Award” from the Edith P. Wright Breast Cancer Foundation, the “2022 Community STARS Award for Domestic Violence Award” from the Sisters4Sisters Network, Inc., the “2023 Lillie Daniels Legacy Award” from the Open My Heart Foundation, the “2023 LOVE Cares Award” from the Sisters4Sisters, Inc. organization, the “2024 Prophet Barbara Jean Vaughn Memorial Fund” from Kingdom Women International Ministry. She is also a “2025 Susan G. Komen Advocacy Ambassador” representing the Susan G. Komen Foundation, fighting for health equity for minorities, especially Black Women.

Dr. Pettus is a member of Gethsemane Baptist Church in Washington, D.C., under the distinguished leadership of Senior Pastor Reverend Dr. Emmett Young, III. She is a sorority member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Incorporated, and Gamma Phi Delta Sorority, Incorporated. Her heart desires to please the Lord and serve His people as she continues to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). Later this year, she will release her new devotional book, “Faith-i-tude. “