Joy Lawson Davis, Ed.D.

Dr. Joy Lawson Davis is an award winning educator with over 45 years of experience in varied roles: classroom teacher; district program coordinator of gifted services; state level Director of Gifted Services; author, researcher, consultant, and Faculty member. In higher education, I previously served as an Assistant Professor of Education and Director of the Ctr for Gifted Education at the University of Louisiana, Lafayette and later, as Associate Professor & chair of Teacher Education at Va Union University. I also served on the Board of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR GIFTED CHILDREN. My areas of expertise and interest are related to addressing the needs of culturally diverse gifted students and those who are gifted with other exceptional conditions. I am the author of numerous article, book chapters and six books, the first was ’Bright, Talented & Black: A Guide for Families of African American Gifted Learners'. The most recent is titled “Empowering Underrepresented Gifted Students: Perspectives from the Field”. I am also co-founder of the Dr. Martin D.Jenkins Scholars Award recognizing highly gifted Black students across the nation, hosted by the National Association for Gifted Children. In 2024, I was awarded the Council for Exceptional Children, Talented and Gifted Diversity Award.

I have shared keynote messages and workshops across the nation and in South Africa, the Caribbean, Canada, and the Middle East. To assist school districts, I provide workshops, seminars, and program evaluation services. For presentation and/or consultation requests - email [email protected]. I am open to virtual work or on-site work, as needed.

I currently serve as Core Faculty at Bridges Graduate School for Cognitive Diversity in Education where I teach and advise doctoral level students. In June 2025, I was inducted into the Bridges 2e Hall of Fame. Thank you for your interest in eradicating underrepresentation of diverse populations in gifted education programs. Underrepresented gifted students from varied cultural backgrounds- those who are Black, Hispanic, Indigenous, low income, twice or thrice exceptional, who live in urban and rural communities have great potential to transform the world for the better. Thank you for your interest in my work and for joining me in this advocacy journey. Reach out if I can help in any way.