Carlene A. Davis

Carlene A. Davis is an organizational development consultant whose personal and career mission is to strengthen communities and transform the lives of children, youth and families by removing the knowledge, resource, policy and system barriers that prevent them from realizing their full potential. Ms. Davis’ expertise is in the PreK-12 education, public and non-profit sectors where she brings a comprehensive portfolio of core competencies that include: operations start-up, place-based strategy implementation, project management, program design and implementation, strategic planning and facilitation, policy and advocacy, community capacity building and stakeholder engagement. Ms. Davis has a talent for moving organizational missions forward through leveraging data, resources, relationships and partnerships—and her strength lies in bringing clarity, substance and direction to the creative process. Analytical, strategic, motivating and accountable, Carlene A. Davis provides full circle leadership for positive social change.

Prior to launching her consultant practice and joining the Coalition for Educational Partnerships, Ms. Davis was the Deputy Neighborhood Officer (DNO) of Education for the Los Angeles Urban League’s comprehensive, multi-disciplinary Neighborhoods@Work place-based initiative in South Los Angeles. As the DNO of Education, she spearheaded the agency’s grassroots and policy level K-12 school reform efforts and implemented educational programming for improving student achievement outcomes in partner schools. Before joining the Los Angeles Urban League, Ms. Davis was the Child Care Coordinator for the City of Los Angeles and the Director of Child Care Policy for the Commission for Children, Youth and Their Families. Ms. Davis honed her leadership in the early care and education arena through her service at Crystal Stairs, the start-up manager of one of the largest welfare-to-work childcare programs in LA County. Through her tenures with Cal Optima, the Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan for Orange County and the County of Los Angeles, Ms. Davis also has a diverse background of experience in health care and public administration and management.

Ms. Davis is the Founder and Director of Abrazar, an intercultural education project that utilizes Spanish-language learning and cultural exchange programs as vehicles to foster understanding and promote positive relations between African-American and Latino youth.

A native of Los Angeles, Ms. Davis earned a B.A. in Political Science from the University of California at Berkeley and an M.P.A. from the LBJ School of Public Affairs (University of Texas at Austin).