Hidden Gems: Meet Antoinette L. Dunstan of First Ladies Youth Leadership Foundation, Inc.

Today we’d like to introduce you to Antoinette L. Dunstan.

Hi Antoinette L., we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
FIRST LADIES YOUTH LEADERSHIP FOUNDATION, INC. — OUR STORY

The First Ladies Youth Leadership Foundation, Inc. (First Ladies) was birthed from a vision: to mentor the next generation of girls, cultivate the purpose in these young women and train them to rise from passive followers into empowered purpose-driven leaders who speak with confidence and courageously walk in the dignity of their true identity.

First Ladies traces its roots to 2008, when I wanted to discover my own purpose and deeply understand the purpose and power of a woman. After weeks turned into months of seeking, pondering and praying, a stirring occurred in my heart. I began to lean into a call to not only help myself come out of my past limitations but to also intentionally help other women and girls find their purpose. After confiding in my mentor, the late Lady Earnestine “Tina” Vaughn, who was a safe place for me to exchange several ideas, we began to frame a mission statement. The God-inspired name was First Ladies. With my mentor being the sole person aware of this idea for many months, our time together became an incubator for ideation and innovation. Before her fight with cancer ended and she was promoted to heaven, I crafted a business plan from what we developed as a simple but powerful belief — that every girl carries within her the potential to lead, influence, and change the world.

By the year 2008, I too had a health scare and needed surgery. During the recovery process, an inner and unshakeable question of “If I had died during the surgery, have I completed the work that was written out on my multiple yellow writing pads?” My answer was an emphatic “no” and a push to get First Ladies started in the state of Goergia was re-ignited.

From its earliest days, First Ladies has been grounded in its role as a solution to challenges repeatedly seen in schools and communities—girls searching for identity, direction, and purpose in a world that often defines them by their roles rather than their potential. Our organization intentionally confronts the limiting narratives placed on women and girls, responding to a culture that too often overlooks their purpose and power. Its very emergence disrupts that narrative, offering girls a place to grow into leaders who understand their worth, their identity, and their capacity to shape the future. Inspired by the teachings of Dr. Myles Munroe, I envisione First Ladies as a space where girls could develop leadership skills, confidence, and cultural awareness—grounded not in stereotypes, but in purpose and dignity.

Guided by this philosophy, First Ladies launched in 2009 at Memorial Middle School in Conyers, Georgia, mentoring six girls for 21-weeks as an after-shool program. Within a year, participation grew by 300%, signaling a deep need for intentional leadership development for girls. By 2011, the First Ladies Youth Leadership & Etiquette Academy opened its doors as a 21‑day summer program, offering business start‑up and soft skills training on the grounds of Eastminster School. In 2012, the summer and afterschool programs merged, forming a unified academy that continued to expand its reach and impact.

As the program grew, so did its influence. First Ladies scholars met with the late Congressman John Lewis to discuss his leadership and role in the civil rights movement as a young man and then later as a government leader. Students studied Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s philosophy of nonviolence and shared their reflections on Channel 2 News. The organization appeared on Atlanta Live TV to advocate for girls’ mentorship. First Ladies launched global outreach efforts, donating more than 1,000 school supplies to children in Ghana for two consecutive years. Scholars met with Congressman Hank Johnson at the U.S. Capitol to discuss girls’ education and equity which followed with a congressional award for service in the state of Georgia. We traveled to New York City for a private tour of the United Nations and New York University. Each milestone reflects our organization’s commitment to preparing girls to become global change agents.

In 2019, First Ladies officially became a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation, establishing the First Ladies Youth Leadership Foundation, Inc. as its permanent home. Our organization expanded into the Rockdale and Henry Counties and partnered with education leaders to serve girls at Newton High School and Stockbridge Middle School. We earned the General Motors Community Impact Award for three consecutive years. In 2024, under the umbrella of the Conyers Rockdale Economic Development Council, and with the leadership of one of our charter mentees, First Ladies co-launched the inaugural Junior CREDC Board — a Generation Z leadership committee contributing ideas to the strategic planning of the city.

Today, First Ladies is a 21‑week youth leadership and economic development program mentoring middle and high school girls across metro-Atlanta. Our mission is clear: to train and equip girls around the world to be positive global change agents and to dominate in the ten strategic cultures of the world — Faith, Education, Government, Arts & Entertainment, Media, Family, Economics, STEM/Medicine, Sports, and Technology — with strength and dignity. With our community and education partners, one of our strategic plan goals is to further expand our impact into the lives of our mentees and expand collaboration with new education partners in additional districts across Georgia.

The First Ladies learning framework is anchored in twelve pillars: Purpose, Mentorship, Sisterhood, Etiquette & Soft Skills, Leadership, Cultural Awareness, Community Service & Social Justice, High School Readiness & Mental Health, College Readiness, Career Readiness, Financial Health, and Entrepreneurship. A fundamental goal of First Ladies is to expose our mentees to ethical women who are the FIRST to break glass barriers in societies’ ten spheres or sectors through interviews, shadowing experiences, and mentorship, so that our First Ladies scholars can purposefully learn to lead with excellence, integrity, decorum and vision.

With the high energy, beauty and passion of recent college and medical school graduates who are Co-Founders of the Melanin Queens for Change Foundation and the beatiful advocacy of recent Georgia State University graduates, First Ladies has also become an incubator of young women who give back to help rising women be shaped into leaders who will transform school climate, community culture, and ultimately the nation’s future. First Ladies is truly a place where girls discover who they are, what they are capable of, and how they can use their voice to create meaningful change with support for higher education.
Through our partnership with the Hill Legacy Center, the Wanda Lynette Hill Scholarship, and the First Ladies Committee, high school graduates completing three active years in First Ladies will recieve college scholarships up to $2000. One of Georgias REACH Scholars was a recipient and is now attending the prestigious Clark Atlanta University.
From six girls in a single classroom to hundreds of rising leaders trained in Georgia, First Ladies continues to stand as a beacon of purpose, dignity, excellence and leadership for the next generation of women.

I invite the community to help us write the next chapter.

First Ladies is currently accepting applications for the upcoming program cycle. Families across metro Atlanta are encouraged to apply while the enrollment window is open.
First Ladies is also seeking volunteers, mentors, donors, and advocates who want to support girls as they develop leadership skills, explore career pathways, and engage in civic and cultural learning. The link to get involved is below.

Every girl deserves access to intentional mentorship and ethical leadership development, and every community member has the power to help make that possible in a small or very big way.

We are on a mission to change the world, one girl at a time.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
For almost two decades, First Ladies has accomplished a great deal. Yet our journey has not been without challenges—and those challenges are precisely what make the mission of First Ladies urgent in a global society that still wrestles with how it sees, values, and supports women and girls.

One of our greatest challenges is dismantling the barriers that limit our rising women and reshaping the narratives we hold as females about ourselves. This work requires shifting mindsets—not only among the girls we serve, but among the adults, families, and communities who influence how our emerging women learn to view their identity, purpose, potential, and worth.

Another ongoing challenge is capacity building—continuously raising the lid, what leadership developers refer to as the “law of the lid,” so we can meet and exceed the evolving needs of our mentees. As the era of AI advances, the responsibility to model effective, future‑focused, transformational, and compassionate servant leadership becomes even more urgent.

Alhtough our journey has not been smooth, First Ladies is committed to strengthening our organizational capacity, expanding our reach, and deepening our ability to carry out our purpose work with love, excellence, integrity, and service.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
Headquartered in the state of Georgia, First Ladies provides 21-weeks of afterschool mentorship for middle and high school girls residing in the metro-Atlanta. From September – May, mentorship includes public speaking coaching with Toastmasters, playing golf, community service projects with Minority Outdoor Alliance, soft-skills training, financial literacy assimulations and much more.

First Ladies is set apart because we are purpose-driven and introduce our mentees to women leaders who are First to break glass barriers in the 10 sectors of our society.

First Ladies is currently accepting applications for the upcoming program cycle. Families across metro Atlanta are encouraged to apply while the enrollment window is open. The link to apply now is below.
https://www.firstladiesyouthleadershipfdn.org/apply-now/
https://www.firstladiesyouthleadershipfdn.org/parents/

First Ladies is also seeking volunteers, mentors, donors, and advocates who want to support girls as they develop leadership skills, explore career pathways, and engage in civic and cultural learning. The link to get involved is below.
https://www.firstladiesyouthleadershipfdn.org/mentors/

Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
My advice for others is:

Pursue your purpose.
Pray for the wisdom until you get clarity.
Have faith and believe in the truth that you were born for this.
Just start. Quiet the fear and doubt by action.
Build quietly and then when the time is right what has been built with integrity, excellence, faith, passion, purpose and persistence will speak loudly.
Get a mentor, non-profit coach or connect with your nearest Small Business Development Center
Perfection and procastination are enemies to purpose. Don’t waste time, the world needs you to get started.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://firstladiesyouthleadershipfdn.org
• Instagram: thenewfirstladies