The stories my parents and other elders shared  with us children anchored me during my formative years as my father's military career upended our lives and constantly moved us to different regions of our racially divided country  and Europe during the racially turbulent fifties and sixties. Ancestral stories nurtured and sustained me  through the many identity crises and feelings of not belonging which haunted me well into my adulthood. 

My love of reading, stories, Black history and later writing. proved to be powerful pathways for deep spiritual healing and growth. In the eighties, I struggled through divorce, single-motherhood, trauma and a host of other challenges, including the tragic death of my older brother. Writing not only sustained me, it put food on the table. Somehow, God caused the Universe to conspire on behalf of my pen, my lifelong passion and purpose and opened doors for me in the predominately white, white-male dominated newspaper industry. 

I embraced my calling: to be a voice and creative social disruptor. Journalism was my dream job. 

 After almost 20 years of reporting, editing and later opining the daily news, I received new marching orders from the Divine. My season in newspapers was fruitful but temporal. I had  broken a glass ceiling, establishing myself as the first African American and first Black woman editorial page editor at my hometown newspaper in Springfield, Massachusetts. 

From there, I was a writer on the editorial board at The Hartford Courant  for several years.  

I packed my pen and media toolbox and carried them into the 21st century world of nonprofits and   philanthropy as a senior leader and communications and marketing executive.  

These, and many more, are the experiences, wisdom and tools, I bring to my business and ministry. I founded  Davenport Coaching Solutions in 2014 to work with leaders and organizations seeking to have greater impact and power in achieving their missions and goals.