Danae Davis

Davis (second from left) is show with several members of PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc. at a recent event.

Born in Milwaukee, a graduate of Rufus King Baccalaureate High, Danae’s undergraduate degree is from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

She went on to Law School at the University of Wisconsin, in Madison and holds her Juris Doctorate, as she passionately promotes and expands PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc.

A gifted achiever, in her own right, she spent a number of years in corporate America. The Philip Morris corporation is a major Fortune 500 company and a leader in the minority-employee ladder. Thus an initial stint with Kraft Foods, in 1996, followed by Miller Brewing Company, in Diversity Management, in 1999, appeared to offer many of the kudos an aspiring professional would embrace.

However, after a few years in Collective Bargaining with the Personnel Department of the City of Milwaukee, Attorney Davis knew she wanted more.

Having come from a family that has always valued the "village concept" of family, community and the world, the tugs for breadth, more relevance, a greater contribution to the challenges facing the community, simply could not be deferred.

Dreams of purpose produced bigger dreams, that were met with vision, and now passion! And from these stimuli, Danae’s pearl-making process began.

PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc. was incorporated as a nonprofit entity in 2000, however, it had existed for over fourteen years.

Colleen Fitzgerald and a cadre of volunteers had been working with young women, mostly African American teens, for a while, from the Jackie Robinson Middle School, quietly encouraging and creating alternatives.

"Pearls was the best kept secret in Milwaukee," Danae Davis, quickly shares. "In January 2006, I was hired to utilize my networks, associates and skill base to expand the number of girls accessing the services and to make the resource known to the community."

"I have always had a strong passion for education and after my son went off to college, I suppose there was the empty nest syndrome, yet more significantly, there was the realization that I could do more and I should do more. Milwaukee is desperately in need of positive role models. PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc., simply came at the right time. I was ready to make a broader contribution, and to what greater resource than our young women. It has been the perfect match," Danae explains.

Before Danae came to PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc., the program had shown many positives. They found that teens counseling teens was a major success producer. "Sixty percent of the girls who enter PEARLS remain with us throughout high school. That is definitely the program and the ability to have teen facilitators design their programs based upon group needs. Of course, we have professionals who guide the teen leaders, " Executive Director Danae Davis continued.

Teen leaders determine the issues and initiatives whether it be academics, hygiene, crime, community services or greater exposures. Their monthly planning incorporates games, activities, speakers and mentors. They are paid typically for four to ten hours each week, yet their volunteer hours always exceed their paid hours.

The teens work because they benefit! When they become leaders, their own actions are affirmed and their role model status necessitates being a better role model for their peers.

The young women learn respect, accountability and punctuality and their full participation earns them greater respect among their peers. Each girl is encouraged to use their gift, whatever it might be. Art, fashion, poetry, writing, typing, sewing, music, and scheduling or planning are just some of the talents each teen is expected to give freely.

They live in the neighborhoods often considered "at risk." "Many of the girls know the pangs of poverty, sexual abuse, death within their families, single parents. Yet, they learn to be resilient and focused. We permit no excuses. We say ‘if not at home, I’m getting it within,’" said Executive Davis.

"We recruit new girls, each year, from the schools with which we have partnerships. We just completed several all-day booth exhibits at the Fitzsimmons Boys and Girls Club; the Northside Y; and Holton Street Y. We are scheduling to go to the Townsend, Keefe Avenue; Silver Spring Academy, St. Joan Antida; Washington Academy of Leadership; BEAM and Notre Dame Middle School. There counselors will recommend girls for the program. But our best recruiters are other girls who are benefiting," Danae beams. And Danae has increased the number of schools participating as well as the number of teens from those schools. She is justifiably proud!

She further shares that about 90% girls are African American; 10% Latino, ranging in age from 11-18 years, that encompasses middle to high school grades, yet two-thirds of them are in middle school, which is where they prefer to get their recruits.

When Danae began at PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc., in 2006, there were six teen groups. In one year, there were l5 groups. They served 400 girls in 2006, this year they will reach 500 girls. Significant achievements within the program included 40 senior girls who graduated, that was 100%, and of that group 90% were admitted to college. Further, 99.25 % of the girls DID NOT get pregnant.

"Through our partnership with Planned Parenthood, with curriculum by United Way, our girls were exposed, however, we believe respect for their teen facilitators was as much a deterrent as the curriculum. They want to win," exclaimed their proud Executive Director.

Summer programs are an integral part of motivating the teens to continue success orientations. "Ninety girls participated in summer settings. Eight girls were part of the Milwaukee Sailing Center sessions. They built two boats, took them out to sail, were photographed by the ‘Milwaukee Journal/Sentinel,’ as they experienced the thrill of their hard work. They had taken swimming and passed the swimming tests before becoming a part of that program. Theirs was a summer they shall never forget." Other girls went to the Girl Scouts Camp; dance camps, Children’s Outing Association’s camps, this summer.

Milwaukee has so many outlets for teen development, there has been no need to re-invent programs. Rather Davis has tried to utilize the programs already in place and ensure that her girls are exposed to the variety of opportunities for enrichment during the summer.

PEARLS believes that each teen is precious and unique within themselves. Like the natural pearl that develops over months as the mollusk attempts to remove the irritant that has invaded its inner shell, no natural or cultured pearl will be exactly alike. Yet, every Pearl will be beautiful, translucent and brilliantly valuable.

PEARLS stands for: P, personal responsibility; E, for empathy; A, for awareness; R, for respect; L, for leadership; and S, for support. They believe that someone inspired each of them to greatness!

"We are now developing our Alumni Association," Danae shares. "These role models must continue to be involved so that they may inspire those coming behind them. We now have a second year student at Marquette University who comes back to lead a group. Our pipeline for talent gets greater and broader.

"We are now grooming Junior Coordinators, a cross between teen and adults. In fact, one day, we hope the Executive Director will come from this pool of talented women, who know the process, have climbed the PEARLS’ ladder and will lead when I no longer lead. They will have the same passion, for they will have been involved in the growth process. They will know first-hand how role models led them from despair to destiny!"

And who are the role models for Executive Director Danae Davis, of PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc. "My number one inspiration is my Mother," she quickly responds. "Mom is my daily inspiration. She is and has always been committed to her family. She taught us we are part of the village. We were taught to respect ourselves and treat the village with respect.

"She had us know that family came first, that we were lucky to have family. We grew up believing that nothing, I mean nothing, could break that bond. I witnessed Mother’s personal journey, college, law school, her goals and her dreams. In fact, we were in law school together! She never gave up on her dreams. She taught us to never give up either."

Most of us remember Danae’s parents, Daphne and Bill Taylor, now retired and enjoying life on the coastal shores of Alabama.

Yet, we recall their call to unite as a community, to share our gifts, to appreciate our African American heritage and celebrate our uniqueness. An adage goes: "An apple falls not far from its tree," appropriately describes the lineage of PEARLS’ directress.

Her passion, her commitment, her tenacity to complete the tasks, her drive to utilize all resources, her quest to ensure that the benefits of the first fruits can be shared with the village are valued adjuncts of her parentage and their gifts to Milwaukee. Danae now builds upon their harvests. She brings the added gifts of this generation to bear.

"The new PEARLS how do we ensure that they come back, that there is not the brain drain so evident among our college-bound," I asked. "Milwaukee is the best kept secret in the whole United States. We do not begin to appreciate what we have right here. Of course, Milwaukee is a conservative city, traditional in spirit. We are just beginning to capture the values of socializing, networking, mentoring and structuring, as is often seen in other cities. We have to say to our youth: ‘You are wanted here! There are opportunities here!’

"And, the broader community has not done what it needs to do to be welcoming. But, the one thing your articles have done is expose more of who we are, what we are doing and how one can reach out for more information, more insight, more professionals who have already traversed the college campuses. The profiles are creating another pipeline for people, resources and responsibilities. We congratulate the newspaper for its role."

Continuing, she said, "It is not rocket science. Milwaukee has to wake up! We must have more diversity on Boards. We can no longer go the ‘old route’ in building leadership." There are enough minority professionals, in Milwaukee, to change this mind-set. The skill-base is present already, we do not have to ‘earn our way up.’

"The corporate community simply is going to have to recognize that they are missing a major component within their community. There are no voices, no perspectives, no reality! And that invalidity may paint a rose-colored glass, but it is not real. The true glass is filled with multicolored, multicultured, multiethnic and multilayered demographics that continue to develop and grow. It must be explored and incorporated to be realistic! I believe I can be a catalyst for that," she concludes.

As the new school year begins and PEARLS for Teen Girls, Inc., begins their new year, we applaud Executive Director Danae Davis for her outstanding leadership and her passion to promote young women to be treasures, gems, pearls within their communities. Most significantly, we laud the tenets of PEARLS, personal responsibility, empathy, awareness, respect, leadership and support, and the modeling successes teens have brought to other teens.

Teens leading other teens to success, by using their personal gifts and talents, are the self-fulfilling prophesies that create a new teen-shift in attitudes, graduations, employment opportunities, enrichment opportunities and future community leadership.

You Danae Davis have been granted the opportunity to create the environment and the infrastructures to grow wonderful women. They often call you "Mom," for like the elder in the African experience, you have already made a path upon which they may now tread.

The gifts of your Mother, from the African perspective, has now germinated and blossoms in the fertile minds of these future leaders.

We applaud you, thank you and wish you every good success. Your enthusiasm is contagious, your desire to continue to grow is infectious! We acknowledge you Best of the Best! Danae Davis, a Milwaukee Woman: Our Treasure, Our Gem!