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The Courage to Care: Company Culture & Transformative Leadership
True leadership extends beyond decision-making—it’s about genuinely caring for and uplifting those you lead. DESHAUNA BARBER, an accomplished trailblazer and leader, draws on her journey as the youngest and only Black female company commander in her battalion in 2014. Faced with rebuilding a fractured unit, she transformed it into the top-performing team through compassion and empathy. As the youngest President of the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN), Deshauna continued to redefine leadership by prioritizing care, resilience, and collaboration. This inspiring talk demonstrates how fostering a caring environment can drive meaningful change in any organization. Deshauna’s story challenges audiences to embrace empathy as a powerful leadership tool in the workplace and beyond.
Forged by Fire: Overcoming Adversity & Life’s Curve Balls
DESHAUNA BARBER’s journey is a testament to the power of resilience and turning pain into purpose. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse and bullying, she overcame early challenges to build confidence and make history as the first soldier crowned Miss USA. During her reign, she faced further hardship with the loss of her mother to lung cancer, an experience that deepened her understanding of strength through struggle. This speech inspires audiences to shift their perspective on adversity, recognizing life’s toughest moments as opportunities for growth. With personal stories and practical tools, Deshauna equips audiences to build mental and emotional resilience. Her message empowers individuals to confront challenges courageously and transform their pain into a catalyst for triumph.
Fail Forward: Empowering The Road To Success
What if failure was the key to success? DESHAUNA BARBER, the first soldier crowned Miss USA, shares her journey of turning rejection, imposter syndrome, and self-doubt into opportunities for growth. Her experiences of overcoming countless “Noes” shaped her resilience and prepared her for success as a motivational speaker and advocate. In this talk, Deshauna provides practical strategies for reframing failure as a stepping stone toward achieving goals. She encourages audiences to embrace rejection, silence self-doubt, and confidently pursue their dreams. Perfect for professionals facing career challenges, this speech inspires individuals to turn setbacks into setups for success.
100 Noes Before A Single Yes: A Young Professionals Resilience Roadmap
DESHAUNA BARBER’s journey proves that perseverance is the foundation of a successful career. After earning her business degree, she faced over 100 rejections before breaking through, eventually becoming a six-figure motivational speaker, Army veteran, and nonprofit leader. In this speech, Deshauna addresses the challenges young professionals face when transitioning into the workforce, emphasizing the value of grit and adaptability. She shares personal stories and actionable strategies to turn rejection into a tool for growth. With her inspiring message, she empowers recent graduates to overcome self-doubt, embrace resilience, and persevere in the face of adversity. This talk equips young professionals with the mindset needed to navigate career challenges and achieve greatness.
The Future is Female: Empowering Women & Taking Up Space
DESHAUNA BARBER has broken barriers across male-dominated fields, from the military to nonprofit leadership and public speaking. As the youngest President of SWAN and a trailblazer in her career, she inspires women to claim their rightful place in spaces historically not designed for them. In this empowering talk, Deshauna shares her journey of navigating bias, breaking glass ceilings, and leading with authenticity. She challenges systemic barriers women face, offering actionable strategies to overcome them and turn obstacles into opportunities. Her message is a rallying cry for women to lead boldly and unapologetically, paving the way for future generations. By the end of this talk, attendees will feel empowered to embrace their voices and drive meaningful change.
Beyond the Checkbox: Advancing Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging
Diversity is not a checkbox—it’s the foundation for belonging and innovation. As a Black woman in male-dominated industries, DESHAUNA BARBER brings an authentic perspective to addressing workplace inequities. Drawing on her journey as an Army officer, IT analyst, and Cornell-certified DEI professional, she shares actionable strategies for creating inclusive workplaces. Deshauna highlights systemic barriers faced by minorities and offers practical solutions to foster equity and belonging. Her talk challenges leaders to go beyond performative gestures, creating environments where everyone feels empowered to contribute. Audiences will leave inspired to embrace diversity as a catalyst for meaningful organizational change.
Beyond the Battlefield: Transforming Corporate Support for Veterans
DESHAUNA BARBER’s life is a testament to resilience and advocacy for the military community. As an Army officer, company commander, and the youngest CEO of SWAN, she has worked tirelessly to elevate service members, especially women veterans. In this talk, she shares personal stories of leadership and the challenges veterans face, including PTSD and reintegration. Deshauna calls on corporations to move beyond slogans and implement meaningful programs that honor and support veterans. Her message inspires businesses to embrace their role in empowering military families and creating opportunities for their success. This talk provides a blueprint for building impactful systems that genuinely support those who have served.
The Country That Unites Us: Finding Common Ground in a Divided World
DESHAUNA BARBER’s experiences as an Army officer taught her the power of unity beyond differences. In the military, soldiers are not defined by race or background but by a shared mission and the "heart of the camo." Drawing on this perspective, Deshauna addresses the divisions seen in today’s society and offers a call to action for finding common ground. Through personal stories and insights, she emphasizes the importance of love and understanding over hate and division. Her talk challenges audiences to embrace compassion and build bridges across political and cultural divides. By choosing unity, we can create communities that thrive and foster hope for a better future.
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Deshauna Barber’s debut book ‘Pretty Ugly Lessons’ reveals the incredible potential for each of us to rewrite our stories and embrace a life of authenticity, purpose, and unconditional self-love
U.S. Army Reserve veteran, human rights advocate, and former Miss U.S.A. DESHAUNA BARBER shares her secrets to resilience in Pretty Ugly Lessons: Empowering Strategies To Transform Adversity Into Triumph By A Former Miss USA and Army Veteran. As Miss USA, Deshauna partnered with impactful organizations such as the USO, Smile Train, Best Buddies, Operation Homefront and more. Nothing can hold Barber back – as Army veteran, Nonprofit Vice Chair, former Miss USA, and STEM graduate, she knows how to embrace the power of self-improvement to create a life radiating with love, happiness, and fulfillment. A journey towards self-discovery, growth, and boundless self-love, Barber uses practical guidance, inspiring stories, and soul-nurturing exercises to teach you how to nurture your mind, body, and spirit.
Deshauna Barber’s Pretty Ugly Lessons is a testament to the incredible potential that lies within each of us to rewrite our stories and embrace a life of authenticity, purpose, and unconditional self-love. In her book, as well as in her phenomenal keynote speeches, Deshauna navigates the ups and downs of her life's lessons, providing her audience with the tools and insights to transcend self-doubt, fear, and insecurities.
Watch Deshauna speak on hardship at MAA >>
Watch Deshauna’s groundbreaking keynote at Younique Americas Convention >>
Event Success Story: Deshauna Barber received a rave review after her talk for The International Association of Home Staging Professionals
DESHAUNA BARBER gave a 40-minute keynote followed by a 20-minute moderated Q&A and participated in a meet & greet for The International Association of Home Staging Professionals. The IAHSP is the largest and longest running Home Staging Industry Trade Association, and invited Barber to their IAHSP Family Reunion Conference & Expo, with the theme of SOAR – Seek Opportunities and RISE – Reach New Heights of Success. Barber’s discussion was motivational and inspirational, engaging approximately 400-500 business owners, professional home stagers and real estate agents. The Association was in awe after Barber’s visit, sharing, "We sought out Deshauna Barber as a Keynote Speaker for our 2021 IAHSP Conference & EXPO after I saw some of her talks online and knew she was was perfect for our Inspirational Keynote Speaker. Deshauna did not disappoint. She shares from the heart. She is articulate and passionate about her causes and beliefs. She is so accomplished at her age with her degrees and awards, and yet not intimidating at all. She had our audience laughing, clapping, cheering and crying. She moved us with her stories and insights - and made us really reflect on who is important in our lives as well as the focus on not giving up. Her quote, "Do not fear failure but do fear regret," resonated with us all in a powerful way. She presented using power point, used the stage versus staying rooted in one spot, and interacted with the audience. She even did a great visual demonstration on life balance that was a lot of fun. She was not demanding as a speaker and made it very easy for us to facilitate her time with our attendees. I highly recommend Deshauna as a speaker for any event where your goal is to make your attendees think about their goals and purpose, to have a multi-faceted speaker who can address just about any topic from business to personal growth to mindset, and who is a beautiful human inside and out."
Captain Deshauna Barber commands attention as the Vice Chair of the Service Women's Action Network, a spokesperson for Olay, and a former Miss USA
Captain DESHAUNA BARBER is the Vice Chair of the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN), an organization supporting service women of the past, present and future. As a commanding officer, she understands the unique needs of America's female heroes, for whom she advocated during her tenure as Miss USA. Captain Barber facilitated a commitment from Walmart to continue the work of SWAN, in partnership with Olay - for whom she is a spokesperson. The partnership donates $250 for every jar of a special camouflage packaged cream purchased in the month of September to SWAN. She recently discussed the partnership and the important work of SWAN on Good Morning America.
Captain Barber speaks with the clarity of commitment to the most important issues of our time: social justice and equity, female empowerment, and the new faces of leadership. Even in virtual events, Captain Barber has the audience applauding enthusiastically, as our nation's highest example of valor, purpose and our collective aspirations. We cannot recommend Captain Barber highly enough for your leadership, empowerment and Veteran's events, but we'll let hosts say it for us: "Deshauna was fabulous, and everyone is still raving about her visit!" (Northern Kentucky University) and "Deshauna is phenomenal! She is moving, inspiring and powerful. She is also very approachable and personable, which they loved!" (National Association of Junior Auxiliaries)
Speaker Spotlight: Deshauna Barber
The first Miss USA to be crowned while currently serving in the United States military, DESHAUNA BARBER has made it her life goal to encourage, inspire and strengthen the people around her. A survivor of child sexual abuse who also overcame extreme bullying from a young age and the loss of her mother to cancer, Deshauna inspires other survivors to fight through the fears of their past and encourages people to focus on loving themselves and the people around them. An IT Analyst for the U.S. Government for over 5 years, Deshauna was also a logistics commander in the United States Army Reserve. She has a passion for our men and women in uniform and has spent much of her career focusing on advocating for soldiers suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). During her year-long reign as Miss USA in 2016, Deshauna partnered with and lent her voice to organizations such as the USO, Smile Train, Best Buddies, Operation Homefront and numerous other impactful organizations.
From speaking at Google to delivering a commencement address that went viral, Deshauna inspires everywhere she speaks. Offering lessons on diversity and inclusion, women's and youth empowerment, breaking the stigma of mental illness, overcoming adversity, and more, her reviews from engagements include raves such as: "Deshauna is phenomenal!... She is moving, inspiring and powerful. She is also very approachable and personable..." (NAJA); "The energy you brought... really created great chemistry that cannot be duplicated... Thank you for empowering all attendees there!" (Georgetown University)
Deshauna Barber is a dynamic international motivational speaker, Army veteran, former Miss USA and founder of the Women Veterans For Change. Renowned for her impactful and inspiring approach. Leveraging her unique experiences as an Army officer, STEM graduate, and advocate, Deshauna exemplifies the power of perseverance and resilience. Her journey from a decorated military career to becoming a top- rated speaker, sought after by Fortune 500 companies, underscores her remarkable ability to inspire and motivate. In 2019, Deshauna made history as the youngest President and CEO of the Service Women’s Action Network (SWAN), a leading nonprofit dedicated to advocating for servicewomen and female veterans. During her tenure, she championed women’s rights and resources on Capitol Hill, making significant strides in support of our nation’s service members. Deshauna holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Management from Virginia State University, a Master of Science in Computer Information Systems and Services from the University of Maryland University College, and a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion certification from Cornell University. Crowned Miss USA in 2016, Deshauna became the first soldier to win the title. She used her platform to advocate for increased support for soldiers with Post- Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). With over 11 years of military service, she continues to emphasize the importance of mental health for service members and veterans. A survivor of childhood sexual abuse, Deshauna channels her experiences into empowering others, dedicating her life to inspiring and uplifting those around her. As a motivational speaker and advocate, her global mission is to encourage, inspire, and strengthen individuals, embodying her commitment to making a positive impact in the world.
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