Danae Davis
Danae Davishas managed to successfully transfer skills and talents used during her successful corporate career, to sectors of the community that need it most. Quietly she gives back with passion, purpose and determination to make a difference.
As Executive Director of Milwaukee Succeeds, Davis has united hundreds of individuals and organizations across the city around a common vision—success for every child, in every school—cradle to career.
“I’ve always been a part of the nonprofit community—mostly as a volunteer—even while working in corporate. I had a passion to make a difference—mostly, but not all of it, focused on education or children. I’ve been blessed with talents and gifts, so about 15 years ago I decided that I wanted to use those blessings to work hard for kids and young people. God has been good to me. I had amassed tangible evidences of my corporate success and I felt a need to step up and step out to help others in ways that are more meaningful. I believe it’s my calling and I feel that doing the work that I do is the answer to that calling,” she said.
Davis has an impressive resume—one that could have taken her to other major cities and corporations across the United States—but she has chosen to remain in her hometown. She received her Bachelor of Science degree in political science from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, and a Juris Doctorate from the University of Wisconsin. Davis also attended Strategic Perspectives on Nonprofit Management, a prestigious program for nonprofit leaders at Harvard University Business School. She was one of 143 attendees from across the world.
She was formerly the CEO of PEARLS for Teen Girls Inc., a Milwaukee-based nonprofit organization that uses a nationally recognized model for girl empowerment and leadership development for adolescent girls. The program provides girls with a safe place, skills development and self-esteem building that lead to better life choices and an opportunity to realize their full potential.
Prior to PEARLS, Davis was the diversity affairs director at Miller Brewing Company (now MillerCoors), responsible for Miller’s strategic diversity initiatives. In this capacity, she oversaw the company’s diversity goal setting and affirmative action plan processes as well as serving as the catalyst for inclusion programs. Davis also represented Miller in the Wisconsin community on a range of public affairs endeavors. Previously, she was director of Diversity Management and Work/Life Programs of Kraft Foods and was responsible for overseeing all company diversity and work/life balance initiatives.
Before joining Kraft Foods, Davis was the director of the Department of Employee Relations for the City of Milwaukee and was responsible for overseeing 92 employees and all human resource functions, namely staffing, compensation, labor relations, equal opportunity employment and benefits. She has held numerous labor relations and human resources positions at the city, state and federal levels. She was also the legal counsel for the governor of the State of Wisconsin.
When asked how she managed to successfully transfer her corporate skills to the nonprofit industry, Davis said:
“First, I learned to be result-focused and mission driven. In working with children—now and in my previous role—if we want our girls to be ready for the world and ready to take their rightful place, and our children to be their best, we need to see results and be committed to achieving our goals. Secondly, it’s important to understand how to influence those things you don’t necessarily control. That may mean fostering healthy relationships with leaders and partners who can get the work done. When I was in corporate focusing on diversity and inclusion, it meant that I had to influence leaders to have a different culture if we were going to be inclusive. And, finally, I learned to build teams that are clear about where they fit in the overall mission and playing to their strengths while holding them accountable,” said Davis.
These days at Milwaukee Succeeds, Davis does all three and more. For the past three years, she has served as the leader and convener of more than 300 cross-sector organizations and individuals that have made a commitment to young people. Milwaukee Succeeds’ vision consists of goals for kindergarten readiness, school success, college and career access and success and social and emotional learning by the year 2020.
Davis acknowledges that the mission of Milwaukee Succeeds can be daunting, but it is equally satisfying to begin to see some of the organization’s successes.
“We are beginning to see some modest success. One of the greatest successes is having so many partners and teams committed to this work after being involved for more than six years. That’s huge! In addition, the clarity of our mission is an achievement; we are seeing some incremental successes in quality childcare programs and with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). Previously, we were leaving billions of federal dollars on the table. Our children need this money to enroll in and complete college. We are seeing tremendous success in that area.
“Another success is keeping all the partners on the same page and going in the same direction for this long—six years. Our community’s ability to work together on a common goal and to put its best with someone else’s best, is something that people are buying into now in Milwaukee. It’s still a challenge at times, but more people are recognizing the benefits of working with partners that have a common goal. We’re all fatigued by how daunting this work is, but each time we see a child, we can’t imagine how he or she is subject to what they are, so early in their lives. As adults, we owe it to these children to get this work done, and we’re not getting it done alone,” said Davis.
Milwaukee Succeeds has adapted a cross-sector commitment to collaboration called collective impact. Collective impact works because it depends on the engagement of many, instead of a few. It works because it uses data to drive decisions and guide progress. It seeks out and invests in the expansion of what’s already working for young people. Collective impact also works because it’s changing the way adults work together for kids.
Davis says that she hopes to remain at the helm of Milwaukee Succeeds for “as long as I add value to the movement.”
“In five years, I hope to see that the systems that perpetuate inequalities are addressed. Change is and must continue to occur at a systems’ level; it’s not one school or program at a time, but incentives that come from government. We are undertaking a systems-focused product and in five years we should see a real impact in other areas that support healthy lives for kids; things such as upward mobility, higher employment rates, adults working in family-sustaining careers,” said Davis.
Davis admits that this work can be tiring and even discouraging at times, but she relies on her family and friends, a commitment to work-life balance and her faith to keep pressing forward.
“The main thing that keeps me going is every time I see a difference being made in the lives of children or families. I try to get around to see evidence of our work, and sometimes watching school leaders, I realize ‘it ain’t easy,’ but the proof is in the pudding. When you see reading proficiencies on the rise, or see the hope in the faces of young children, it powers you up and gives you renewed strength.
“I recharge my battery with family, friends, being steeped in my spiritual commitment and having a healthy work-life balance. It’s also energizing to see everyone (all the Milwaukee Succeeds partners) still at the table. That’s what helps me keep at it.
“I also want to express a heartfelt thank you to Mrs. Pattillo, publisher of the Milwaukee Community Journal and her staff for caring so much about our children and our community. I am also so grateful to the leaders who have committed and remain committed to our children through their involvement with Milwaukee Succeeds,” said Davis.
In this Year of the Child, Milwaukee is also grateful to Davis for her leadership, passion and determination to make a difference in the community.
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