It’s not just about making a difference…it’s about creating a legacy of positive change that we can celebrate!
The Dr. Shirley Davis Foundation gives historically marginalized and underrepresented individuals and groups the hope and help they need to achieve their vision and goals, produce at higher levels, and experience success and fulfillment in every aspect of their lives!
We exist to encourage, empower, enlighten, and enrich the lives of those who have been historically and are currently marginalized, minimized, and trivialized due to social, economic, and workplace barriers and obstacles.
We will achieve this by providing educational and development resources, programs, grants, scholarships, and partnerships that will enable underrepresented individuals, underserved communities, and minority-owned businesses to achieve their dreams and accelerate their success.
We energize individuals to achieve personal and professional success through education, empowerment, and encouragement.
We identify and nurture the unique gifts and talents of individuals through self-assessments, skills training, mentorship & coaching, and ongoing self-development programs.
We enhance opportunities for employment, exposure, and personal excellence through the application and execution of strategies, tools, and resources.
We acknowledge and recognize the personal and professional achievements, academic advancements, and community impact of program recipients.
When I was a brand new mother, I was single, broke, frustrated, afraid, and I remember being at my lowest point–wishing that I knew then what I know now. The kindness of colleagues, a few good bosses, and wise mentors made me believe that I was purposed for greatness and could live the life I deserved. That’s what drives me every day, and it’s why I founded this foundation. I believe in the power of education, mentorship, and advocacy to transform lives. We want to help others achieve that same realization and maximize the opportunities that come their way.
The Dr. Shirley Davis Foundation, is on a mission to give historically marginalized and underrepresented individuals and businesses the hope and help they need to achieve their vision and goals, produce at higher levels, and experience success and fulfillment in every aspect of their lives! It’s a vision that is deeply personal to me, and I’d like to share why.
I’ve witnessed the profound impact that access to opportunities and support can have on individuals and their communities. We are committed to making these resources accessible to all.
Thank you for considering the Dr. Shirley Davis Foundation as a partner in your journey toward a better future. Together, I truly believe we can leave the people we meet and the places we go, better than how we found them.
Gabrielle Agnew is an ambitious millennial thought leader and business woman with a heart for people. She is the CEO of GV Innovative Strategies LLC, a “success center” for professionals, business-owners, and small businesses and the current Manager of External Events at SDS Global Enterprises Inc.
After winning her first pageant at 15 years old under the Miss America pageant system, Gabrielle first began speaking around her community about the ills and eradication of hate, bias, and prejudice in society, especially on social media platforms. Gabrielle has continued her involvement as a voice for her generation. In 2012, she became an ambassador for two international initiatives aimed at social justice: Invisible Children and The Anti-Defamation League. Her leadership in these initiatives raised over $10,000 and lasted throughout her tenure of high school where she graduated that same year with honors receiving the “Service Learning Award ” for her outstanding efforts in community outreach.
She earned her Bachelor’s degree in both Interpersonal Organizational Communication and Event Management from The University of Central Florida and Rosen College of Hospitality respectfully. Her professional experiences include vital roles at leading organizations such as Society for Human Resource Management (“SHRM”), The Orlando Magic, Hyatt Grand Cypress, Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts, The Experience Christian Center, and SDS Global Enterprises.
Throughout her vibrant professional career, she gleaned that the art of eloquence and story-telling was the key to both commercial and personal success whether in corporate America or the non-profit sector. With her background in pageantry, debate, mentorship, and administration, she found her passion in the areas of writing and speaking as a vehicle to compel, educate, and empower.
In 2023, she was appointed Executive Director of the Dr. Shirley Davis Foundation which gives individuals and businesses the hope and help they need to expand their life vision, produce at higher levels, and experience fulfillment in every aspect of their lives.
Gabrielle enjoys singing, modeling, cooking, interior designing and traveling. She is the dog mom to her best friend of 15 years, MiMi, and currently resides in Tampa, FL.
Dr. Shirley Davis is a sought-after global workforce expert, and is president and CEO of SDS Global Enterprises, a strategic development solutions firm that specializes in human resources strategy; talent management; leadership effectiveness; culture transformation; and diversity, equity, and inclusion. Dr. Davis has over thirty years of experience in a variety of senior executive leadership roles in Fortune 100 & 50 corporations and in her last role, served as vice president of global diversity and inclusion and workforce strategies for the world’s largest human resources association, the Society for Human Resource Management. Her work has been featured by the Wall Street Journal, NBC’s Today Show, USA Today, CBS News, Fox News, CNN.com, Fast Company, CEOWorld Magazine, Harvard Business Review, and many others. In May 2022, her story was featured on the front page of Oprah Daily.
As a result of her contributions and expertise in the HR, Leadership, and DEI fields, she was inducted into Inclusion Magazine’s Hall of Fame for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in November 2021, and in August 2022 in Nashville, TN she received The Golden Gavel Award which is Toastmasters International’s highest and most prestigious award given to only one person each year. Additionally, she was nominated for Forbes 2021 Women 50 Over 50 list and again in 2022.
Dr. Davis has worked in more than 30 countries on 5 continents and delivers more than 100 speeches a year to a wide range of industries, sectors, and sizes, including Fortune 10s-500s corporations, large membership associations and non-profit organizations, and federal, state, and local government agencies. She continues to consult, coach, and train leaders at all levels, including Corporate CEOs, C-Suite executives, Board of Directors. She served on the Board of Directors and the Foundation Board for the National Speakers Association (2017-2021) and led their first-ever NSA DEI Task Force. She is currently a member of the NSA Million Dollar Speakers Group, and a member of the Global Speakers Federation. In 2021, she was named to the national board of the Make-A-Wish Foundation and will serve a four-year term. She holds a Bachelor’s in Pre-Law, a Master’s in Adult Education; a second Master’s in Human Resource Management, and a Ph.D. in Business and Organizational Leadership.
Dr. Shirley Davis is the author of the recently released book Living Beyond “What If?” Release the Limits and Realize Your Dreams (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, August 10, 2021). She’s also the author of Reinvent Yourself: Strategies for Achieving Success in Every Area of Your Life and The Seat: How to Get Invited to the Table When You’re Over-Performing but Undervalued. Additionally, she is a popular author for eight LinkedIn Learning courses on Leadership and DEI, and in January 2021 was sought out by another global publishing company–John Wiley & Sons to write the first-ever Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for Dummies book (released January 10, 2022 as Amazon’s #1 New Release in its category and #7 Best Seller). Her second title with John Wiley & Sons, Inclusive Leadership for Dummies, will be released in April 2024.
She is a former Miss District of Columbia National Teenager, Mrs. Oklahoma-America, Ms. Richmond Virginia, Ms. Virginia, and in 2000 she won the national title of Ms. American United States. But among her many accomplishments and titles, the one she holds dearest is “mom” to her daughter, Gabrielle Victoria.
Teresa applies a business-minded approach to maximizing client relationships for mutual benefit. Her interpersonal skills resonate with leadership and the public, and she excels in establishing and streamlining operations. Her analytical thinking, attention to detail, and strong organizational skills contribute to our foundation’s operational efficiency.
Outside of the foundation, Teresa acts as Senior Manager of Business Operations for SDS Global Enterprises, Inc. Within that role, some of Teresa’s responsibilities include assisting in organizational forecasting, project management, project data analysis, client intakes and consulting, overseeing the organization’s finances, and maintaining various office platforms, applications, and communication channels to ensure efficiency in delivering on services.
Prior to joining SDS Global Enterprises in 2017, Teresa acted as Business Manager for a large court reporting agency in the Tampa Bay area where her greatest achievements were expanding the firm’s offerings to providing interpretation and translation services, formalizing the firm’s standard operation procedures for streamlined operations, and expanding the organization’s marketing reach through a branding redesign, SEO optimization, and social media outreach.
Teresa entrepreneurial spirit has led her to successfully start multiple businesses, one of which includes a translation and interpretation agency in which she brokered nationwide language services to individuals and organizations. Another was working with youth ages K-8 to ignite inspiration, imagination, and creativity through the arts using a variety of media.
Prior to these endeavors, Teresa worked in Marketing & Advertising for a successful real estate development firm in Tampa Bay, where she assisted in coordinating several community events, marketing, and advertising efforts.
She has a Bachelor’s degree in Business Marketing from the University of South Florida and has Level II background clearance with the State of Florida. Outside of work, Teresa enjoys spending time with her family, kayaking, cooking, creating art in a variety of mediums, and attending her children’s sporting events. She is happily married to her husband of 15 years, has two children, two dogs and a cat.
Barry Banther has been a trusted business advisor to family owned businesses and closely held companies for over three decades. He has been the lead consultant on over 400 engagements to improve business performance across the United States. His clients include Fortune 100 companies like Rockwell Collins, Pfizer and Eli Lilly; as well as large regional companies like Plimpton and Hills in the Northeast, PDI in the Southeast, and Tampa Bay Steel in Florida.
This body of work has earned him the highest accreditation from the Institute of Management Consultants, CMC (Certified Management Consultant) and the National Speakers Association, CSP (Certified Speaking Professional). Less than 100 consultants worldwide hold both designations simultaneously.
Barry has written over 50 Leadership Development Programs used by companies worldwide. His latest book, A Leader’s Gift, How to Earn the Right to be Followed reached Best Seller status on Amazon the day of its release.
In addition to his consulting practice, three governors of Florida asked Barry to serve in their administration overseeing private higher education. He was elected to an unprecedented three terms as Chairman of the Florida State Board of Independent Colleges and Universities.
He has received broad public recognition for his work with families and family businesses. Barry was named Family Ambassador of the Year by Family First – home of the All Pro Dad program. And in 2018, he and his wife received the Jack and Ruth Eckerd Legacy Award for 4 decades of service to Florida families and Florida organizations.
2020-2021 Barry will serve as the Chairman of the Board of the National Speakers Association. NSA is the largest community of professional speakers, best selling authors and consultants in the world. The President of WTSP CBS-TV in Tampa described Barry’s work this way, “If you are considering hiring Barry, it will be the smartest business decision you’ve ever made.”
LaVon Bracy Davis currently serves as the State Representative for Florida House District 40.
She is an advocate and community leader from West Orange County. She attended Dr. Phillips High School and was an active part of the visual and performing arts magnet program. Her love for the arts led her to obtain a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theater Arts from Howard University. Her love for service led her to pursue her Juris Doctor from Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, College of Law. She is a licensed and barred attorney and previously worked as a Senior Attorney for the Department of Children and Families.
For over fifteen years, Lavon served as the Senior Director of Community Programming for the internationally acclaimed Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts. LaVon’s key contributions include leading the diversification of community programming and the production of free concerts, events, and educational experiences. She annually contracted over 175 performances featuring local arts groups, nonprofits of all sizes and a myriad Central Florida’s community-based organizations.
Among LaVon’s key personal accomplishments is the legislative appointment as Chair of the Florida Council on Arts and Culture – a 15-member advisory council convened to advise the Secretary of State regarding cultural grant funding and matters pertaining to culture in the state. One of her most memorable accomplishments while on the panel was the opportunity to select the sculptor who created the sculpture of Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune that will be placed in the National Statuary Hall in Washington, DC.
Additionally, LaVon is a committed board member for Pace Center for Girls: Orange County and a volunteer for Valencia College’s Take Stock in Children/Horizons mentorship program. In 2018, LaVon was chosen by the Orlando Business Journal as one of the recipients of the 40 Under 40 Awards. Additionally, she is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
She is married to Rev. Adrian R. Davis, pastor of the Bethel Independent Free Methodist Church in Mount Dora, Florida.
Dr. Katrina Esau is the President and CEO of KE3 Worldwide Enterprises, LLC, the founder of W.H.O.L.E. (Wives Healing Openly Leaving Him Exalted)™, and the creator of The W.H.O.L.E. Academy, which offers programming that cultivates healing and forgiveness. She is a seasoned business leader with over 25 years’ experience in the financial services industry. She is known for helping multiple Fortune 500 companies successfully complete projects on-time, yielding over 40% increase in revenues and increasing efficiencies. Dr. Esau is regularly sought out for her expertise in Project Management and Consulting and is widely regarded as a ‘big picture’ thinker, problem solver, thought leader, who brings rational decision-making to the most challenging scenarios. She is a former board member and program committee member of the YWCA of Tampa Bay where she helped design programs to build community amongst women of various sectors and diverse backgrounds, explored solutions to the barriers women of color face, and collaborated with the board of directors and potential partners on ways to educate and create intersectional inclusion for diverse women.
Dr. Esau holds a Bachelor’s degree in Management, Master’s degree in Managerial Leadership (both respectfully from National Louis University), and a Doctorate of Education in Organizational Leadership from Argosy University. She is a Certified Associate in Project Management and a licensed, Series 99 Operations Professional. Dr. Esau is also a Certified Christian Life Coach & Certified HIScoach that helps kingdom minded women gain the spiritual and mental tools that they need to HEAL from the trauma and hurt of infidelity; so they can birth their way into purpose!
Her ministry was birthed after coming face to face with infidelity in her own marriage, having bouts of hopelessness, and feeling alone in her marital journey. Her mission in life is to help other women hurting from the pain of infidelity reclaim their power and walk in total healing. Dr. Esau is known for her unique style of delivery and coaching that has a way of reaching people where they are and empowering them to come up higher.
Dr. Esau is also an international best-selling author. She has authored The Pain of Infidelity Births Purpose where she shares her story and experience with other women in a real, raw, and relatable way to bring hope, encouragement, and healing to them whether they are entering in, in the midst of, or they walked away from a season of trauma in their marriage. The Blueprint to Becoming Whole, which is the accompanying journal with activities, affirmations, and encouragement. Woman, Be Made Whole, a 21-Day Devotional that helps women on their journey to healing from within. She is a co-author of Called to Intercede: Volume One, where she shares on the topic of A Divine Gap Stander; Wellness for Winners, where she talks about the 7 minutes that transformed her life; and Step Up and Speak Out, where she declares Healing is in Your Release.
Her desire is to help women walk out their healing process and Normalize Healing Openly™ so, they can change the trajectory of their families and impact their communities. While her hope is, they would experience the level of restoration she has, more than that, she wants the women to be free of all unforgiveness and hurt.
Steve Miranda is an Executive Partner at Gartner, Inc. Previously, Steve held a Senior Officer role at the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, the Central Bank of the United States where he was responsible for both Human Resources as well as Technology Applications. He is also the CEO and founder of Four Forces Consulting, LLC. Previously, Steve was the Executive Director for Cornell University’s ILR School Executive Education and Center for Advanced HR Studies. Prior to joining Cornell, Steve was the CHRO as well as Strategy and Chief Ethics Officer for the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM). Before SHRM, Steve was an HR VP at Lucent Technologies (currently Nokia). At Lucent, Steve spent 3-1/2 years in Hong Kong providing HR leadership for Lucent’s 14,000 person Asia-Pacific business. He also led the development of HR strategies for Bell Laboratories, the world famous R&D engine that has generated eight Nobel Prizes.
In addition to sitting as a Director on multiple non-profit Boards, Steve has been an advisor to four start-up organizations as well as a past United States representative to the North American HR Management Association (NAHRMA). His team’s work has appeared in the Harvard Business Review, Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio, the BBC and many others. Steve has presented at multiple events worldwide, including the American Chamber of Commerce, Major League Baseball, The George Bush Center for Intelligence and the National Institute for Health. He teaches at the graduate level as an adjunct professor at Cornell University, Georgetown University, Seattle Pacific University, and the Sasin Business School of Chulalongkorn University in Thailand. Steve holds a Bachelors in Liberal Arts and a Masters in Computer Science as well as the SPHR, GPHR and SHRM-SCP certifications. Having travelled to or worked in over 35 countries, he is intimately familiar with the many challenges facing global leaders as they develop their teams to face the challenges of increasingly volatile markets and economies.
Tyronne Stoudemire is the SVP of Global Diversity Equity & Inclusion for Hyatt Hotels Corporation, a global hospitality company with widely recognized, industry leading brands and a tradition of innovation developed over its more than 60-year history.
At Hyatt Hotels Corporation, Tyronne collaborates with senior leadership team to implement culture, talent, and marketplace strategies that leverage diversity and inclusion globally growing the enterprise wide across brand portfolio. As such, his team and internal corporate stakeholders implement diversity initiatives that include Resource Groups, mentoring programs for high potential women and people of color, a communications and public relations strategy to drive internal engagement and external brand recognition, and enhanced brand marketing effort to further focus on multicultural and LGBT audiences. He is the Co-Chair, of Hyatt’s Global Diversity Equity and Inclusion Counsel (GDEIC).
Tyronne identifies and leverages the opportunities and challenges presented by the expanding multicultural mosaic of worldviews and attitudes regarding Diversity Equity & Inclusion and performance given the increasing diversity in the workplace and global marketplace. A globally recognized executive and highly sought-after speaker, Tyronne has consulted with numerous Fortune 100 clients on diversity strategy, with insight around how organizational leaders can understand and harness the shifts evident in national and global demographic trends. Tyronne employs a unique talent that results in extraordinary benefits for individuals and organizations and has a proven ability to advance socially responsible corporate initiatives by fostering strategic relationships to catalyze international grassroots movements.
Tyronne, has received several accommodations and awards just to name a few: He was named one of the Top Executives in Diversity by Black Enterprise Magazine; and honored as one of the 50 Diversity Champions by Diversity Woman Magazine. He is also the recipient of the Top Executive’s in Diversity Black Enterprise Magazine, Who’s Who in Black Chicago: The Inaugural Edition, Thurgood Marshall College Fund of Excellence Award, Most Influence African American People Voice, Push for Excellence Award (Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration and Scholarship Breakfast), National African American History Month by President of the United States of America, President Obama.
Tyronne is a member of the Executive Leadership Council, adjunct professor at Kellogg School of Management, serves on the Metropolitan Planning Council Broad (MPC), PUSH Excel Broad, Senior Advisor for the Music Institute, Senior advisor to the People’s Music School, Treasurer for the Arthur M. Brazier Foundation, Chairman of the Board for The Black Ensemble Theater, Gov. Pat Quinn appointed Tyronne to the board of Illinois mapping commission, Gov. JB Picketer appointed Tyronne to Chicago State University Working Group to Create an Equity Agenda for Black College Students in Illinois.
Most recently he was appointed by President Robert Isom (AA) to serve on American Airlines, founding Diversity and Equity Community Council focusing on Black travelers.