Antoinette Allen, PhD

Antoinette is the Chief Storyteller and founder of Two Cups of TLC, LLC which is an educational consulting company specializing in helping leaders discover authentic paths and pursue experiential, lifelong learning opportunities. She is unafraid to pioneer healing techniques to include forgiveness and traumatic transitions in the workplace. This has led her to becoming an international speaker and sought-after storyteller and trainer. Antoinette is known for her innovative instructional environments in which she frequently leverages art, music, and poetry to gain new insights and perspectives. 

She is a former faculty member at the Office of Personnel Management’s Federal Executive Institute where she designed, facilitated, and taught executive leadership courses where she was known for her skill in facilitating difficult conversations and making learning come alive. She is a certified life coach, an avid thinker, who seeks to deeply connect with learners. Antoinette has 25 years in public service which began in the United States Air Force. Prior to joining OPM, she served as a senior leader in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) from 2010-2017 and as a military officer in the Virginia Air National Guard. As a senior manager in the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Antoinette supported the Leadership Development Program as an adjunct faculty member. 

Antoinette has a wide-ranging background in matters of EEO and Diversity, and was awarded the Department of Justice Attorney General’s award for Equal Employment Opportunity in 2013 and served on the Native American Special Emphasis Team. During her military career she was awarded the Army Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Force Commendation Medal and the Air Force Achievement medal. In 2017, she received her Ph.D. from Old Dominion University in Education. Additionally, she holds a Master’s degree in Behavioral Science, a Bachelor’s degree in Human Resource Development and an Associate’s degree in Logistics from the Community College of the Air Force. Antoinette was certified by the FBI to teach in the areas of Leadership and Emotional Intelligence and was certified as a mediator by the Department of Defense. 

Upon retiring as a Major in the Air National Guard in 2014, Antoinette returned to her passion of writing and pursued becoming a published writer. Her published works are centered on the topics of empathy, diversity, forgiveness, inclusion, leadership, and resilience. Her dissertation entitled, When I See My Face: Painting the Portrait of Senior Black Women Leaders in the U.S. Federal Government gave birth the necessity of leveraging forgiveness as a leadership strategy and the importance of healing organizational wounds. Her first leadership book entitled, Bras, Bootstraps, and the Bible: Stories of Resilience gives a glimpse into three distinct types of resilience, women’s military experiences and encourages readers to embrace the power of story. With a life motto of, “Keep Moving Forward,” Antoinette seeks to connect her audience with the necessity of not only sharing their story but making no apologies for it either.