I had never met anyone named Mesha before having lunch with Mesha Davis, and afterward I can absolutely say that I expect I will never encounter a more passionate advocate for women’s causes than this amazing woman.
Mesha is the CEO of Arizona Foundation for Women and has served in that role since October 2016. The Foundation’s vision is that Arizona will become a place where women are safe, healthy and economically independent. Statistics in the “Status of Women in Arizona 2020” report published on the Foundation’s website present frightening facts that highlight the need for the Foundation:
- 41% of women in Arizona have been a victim of sexual violence;
- Arizona is a prime transit and destination area for both sex and labor trafficking in the U.S.;
- Arizona is ranked 7th in the nation for the highest rate of females killed by males;
- Arizona women employed full-time lose a combined $13billion each year due to the wage gap, earning only $.84 for every dollar earned by men; and
- S. mothers saw a 12% drop of employment in 2020 compared to the 4% drop by U.S. fathers during the COVID pandemic.
Mesha’s work seeks to change these negative factors through Research, Advocacy and Philanthropy (RAP), and to focus on making a difference in our community with efforts associated with women’s Safety, Health and Economic Empowerment (SHE). The Foundation elevator speech is that they “RAP to SHE”!
Mesha grew up in a single-mother home, surrounded by extended family members who also had no positive father figure in the picture. In a very rough neighborhood in Milwaukee, it was not safe for a young girl to walk home from school alone and gang violence was rampant. She has said that as a youth, she witnessed violence inflicted on young women by loved ones. She helped clean up the blood and bruises of others and vowed never to allow a man to do such things to her.
Her mother set the path to exit from that environment and Mesha used every aspect of her education and street smarts she had acquired to make a difference in the lives of others. Today, Mesha works diligently to help women feel safe, be healthy and have equal and fair opportunities to be economically independent.
This is a challenging role, in a state with a dubious (at best) history of supporting positive change for women. The Foundation’s efforts are a start, doing the research to understand the most pressing issues, and then fighting through our legislative system to make it a reality. There is much work to be done, and Mesha seeks out collaborative energies to keep pushing forward.
Mesha leads a team of 4 staff and 20 board members. She works hard to motivate her team and admits she couldn’t do it without them. Ellen Lord is Donor Relations and Program Director. Meghan Adams is the Operations & Communications Coordinator and Jennifer Camano is the Planned Giving Director.
The Foundation’s programs include the acronym “SHE” for Safety, Health, and Economic Empowerment: SHE Talks!™ is a series of salon-style talks by subject matter experts; SHE Leads!™is a leadership program created by and for women with the mission to advance more women into leadership positions; and SHE Counts!® Legacy Circle allows for support of AFW in perpetuity. The Foundation also publishes a research report every four years on the Status of Women in Arizona. Since their founding, AFW has also provided more than $2.7million in grants to small, grassroots women’s nonprofits as an investment in Safety, Health and Economic Empowerment.
I can unequivocally say of Mesha Davis, SHE Counts!®, SHE Leads!™ and SHE CARES! She seeks to let all women know that they are beautiful, special and have gifts to share. Mesha is sharing her gifts with our state, and the people of Arizona are made better by her dedication and commitment.
Learn more about Arizona Foundation for Women and support their important work by visiting https://www.azfw.org/donate today.
Dan Shufelt, the former CEO of Arizona Helping Hands, has been involved in the charity world as an executive and grant maker for many years.
If you enjoy learning of caring people and the amazing work they devote their energy to advance, be sure to sign up for Dan’s blog (see sign-up form below).
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