Jacquelyn Davis is a nonprofit leader and transformative advisor to philanthropies who dedicated her life to the education sector and social impact. Her life and career are led by constant learning and curiosity. She has launched many organizations and initiatives. EDVolution, a boutique consulting she founded has worked with many national foundations – including the Gates Foundation, the Overdeck Foundation, New Schools Venture Fund, the Wallace Foundation, the Walton Foundation, the Rainwater Foundation, the Alice B and James A Clark Foundation, and the Kern Foundation, among others – and numerous education social impact organizations – including Teach For America, New Leaders, and many more.
Growing up in the South in a segregated community with socially conscious parents who taught her that not every family has the same opportunities, Jacquelyn learned from an early age to stand up for what she believes in and bear the cost of it. She witnessed systemic differences and inequalities, and while the changes her family wanted, began at home, Jacquelyn continued to carry the same passion for diversity in her life and work, moving forward.
Today we are facing a national crisis because 70% of kids can’t read by third grade and over 60% of schools in America are not using curriculum based on science-based research on how the brain learns. Sadly, prison beds in this country are based on reading levels, and still, things are not changing.
A new entrepreneurial journey for Jac started when her dyslexic son learned to read using a board game she created. Clever Noodle as an additional tool, can help kids around the country fix their reading issues.
The public education system must provide education for all kids so they can become high-quality readers and open up the doors to their lives and possibilities for their future. We all have a call in this.
Notes:
🎙️ Being curious about people: learning from many experienced interviewers like Jacquelyn how to talk to people, helped Ron become a podcast host.
01:43⭐ Born and raised in Texas: her dad was a lighthouse of integrity.
02:45😍 No strangers - all were welcome in their house: nurturing acceptance, desegregation, and having very progressive parents.
05:00👎🏾 Growing up in the South: a difference and an inequality that was systemic being created.
11:22⚡ Don’t complain about it - do something about it: The family volunteered for homelessness and food insecurity.
18:06👧🏾 Jac’s educational path started with school rehabilitation and college for scholarships: when a girl plans her funeral.
20:11🤓 Startup is a very ambiguous space: you need to know if you are wired to learn everything about everything.
24:17🏆 Jac’s circle of champions: parents, English teacher, health teacher, and amazing friends who influenced her.
27:54🧠 Clever Noodle creation: her son was struggling with learning how to read during COVID so Jacquelyn learned how the sequential process in the brain works and created a board game for reading.
35:26🔥 National crisis on literacy: finding the sweet spot with supplemental products but also science-based reading curriculums in schools - we need multifaceted solutions.
40:07😇 “Mama, I know you are teaching me how to read but it is ok, because it is fun.”
46:20✍️ Summarizing and synthesizing complex brain functions are getting developed when we write.
50:38 🤯 Our prisons are full of people who were not taught to read: they are capable but the system is not interested.
55:11💎 Jac’s RONdering: Stay clever and stay curious to grow opportunities.
57:54⚠️ Spread literacy by donating games to families and schools.
58:40Links:
What is Ronderings?
In season one of Ronderings, Ron talks to his guests about their superpowers, including career advice, diversity, mindset, wellness, and leadership. Ron grew up in New York City, and has been coaching and leading executive searches for the last five years, taking what he has learned from 15 years in corporate, higher education, government, and non-profit contexts. He and his wife are obsessed with reality television, and Ron also moonlights as a men's personal stylist and group fitness instructor. Ron says, "I believe in the power of intuition and deepening one’s self-awareness and impact on others. I believe in the power of connection and transparency. I believe that we must dismantle systems of oppression and racism to recover our fullest humanity. Most of all, I believe our power to change the world starts from changing ourselves first."