Davis Has Held Leadership Roles in Reproductive Justice and Racial Equity for 15 Years; Joins New Voices After Leadership Role at National Birth Equity Collaborative
Pittsburgh & Philadelphia, Pa. and Cleveland, Ohio (February 22, 2022) – New Voices for Reproductive Justice, a multi-state organization driving social change and dedicated to the health and well-being of Black women and girls, today announced the appointment of Kelly Davis its next executive director. She joins New Voices as part of the coordinated succession plan announced last summer by founding president and C.E.O. La’Tasha D. Mayes, who has led the organization since 2004.
“In Kelly Davis, we have a veteran of the reproductive justice movement who is also personally and professionally aligned with our mission, principles, and values,” said Mazda Miles, board chair for New Voices. “Our national search touched some of the top leaders in this space and we are ecstatic to be bringing on such an influential and visionary woman to usher the organization into its next chapter.”
Davis is a 4th generation birth worker who has worked in reproductive justice for 15 years, with her most recent role being the Chief of Birth Equity Innovation at the National Birth Equity Collaborative (NBEC). Across her recent roles, she has consistently operated as a mission-aligned, data-driven leader focused on metrics, planning, systems, accountability and gathering the right insights to measure program effectiveness.
Prior to joining NBEC, Kelly led a series of initiatives for the nation’s largest health department in New York City. During her nearly decade-long tenure, she led healthy eating and active living programs, catalyzed NYC’s first HIV public awareness campaign, totally focused on women, and served as one of the founding members of the Center for Health Equity, where she conceptualized the Family Wellness Suites – community respite and healing spaces for parents and children.
Under Davis’s leadership, New Voices expects to grow significantly to accommodate the expanding need for its leadership and input on reproductive justice issues.
“I am so excited to join New Voices at this pivotal moment,” said Davis. “This organization is recognized and respected nationally for its work on countless key reproductive justice issues. It is my honor to ensure we remain present and relevant in the spaces and conversations where the reproductive justice movement is needed the most – especially as sociopolitical systems collude to deny Black people racial justice, environmental justice and healthcare access.”
Mayes co-founded New Voices as a Pittsburgh-based grassroots collective along with colleagues Bekezela Mguni and Maria Dautruche, and with guidance from Lois “Toni” McLendon, a respected community elder. Their successful efforts buoyed them to formally organize in 2007, and since that time, New Voices has steadily built a powerful, growing, thriving social change movement that has made a measurable and positive difference in the lives of Black women, femmes, girls and gender-expansive folx.
Today, New Voices’ influence on issues extends to Black maternal health, abortion access, comprehensive sex education, contraception and healthcare, environmental justice, LGBTQ+ rights, gender-based violence, mass incarceration, pushout of Black girls in schools, police violence and COVID-19 relief.
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