Dr. Zaria Davis is a mentor, educator, and advocate. She is Senior Associate with Pretrial Justice Institute focusing on advocacy and community engagement. Zaria serves as a coach and consultant for nonprofits servicing directly impacted communities through New Direction Coaching & Consulting, LLC. She has worked with organizations such as From Prison Cells to PhD, Operation Restoration, and JLUSA. Dr. Davis also is an experienced grant writer and reviewer. Zaria is passionate about working with women in reentry and launched Filling The Gap Reentry Services in 2019, addressing many of the voids of services in her community for formerly incarcerated women. The goal is to program to empower the voices of incarcerated and formerly incarcerated women. Filling the Gap also serves on the UnlockHigherEd Steering Committee which advocates full restoration of the Pell Grant, Ban the Box on college applications and Removal of question 23 on FAFSA. She previously served as Executive Director with Lincoln Heights Outreach, Inc. where the mission is to move families to self-sufficiency. 

Zaria holds a DSW (Social Work) from Capella University, MSW from University of Cincinnati and BA in Sociology from Wilberforce University. Zaria is a member of various local and national organizations. Dr. Davis is a JustLeadershipUSA Leading with Conviction 2019 Graduate, Community Leaders Institute 2019 graduate, Excel XIV 2019-20 graduate and currently a member of Leadership Cincinnati Class 44. She serves as a board member for Dress for Success Cincinnati, chairing the Program Committee, and the Robert O’Neal Multicultural Art Center (ROMAC). Zaria is a member of the Rotary Club, Impact 100, Junior League of Cincinnati, International Coaching Federation, NABCJ (Life Member), NASW, and Wilberforce Alumni Association (Life Member).

Dr. Davis is the recipient of the Restored Citizen Award in 2019 and Mary Ivers Success Award in 2020. She is actively engaged in her local community in developing and training new advocates, especially those impacted by the criminal legal system. Zaria has a wide range of experiences which reflects her advocacy, training, and consulting. Dr. Zaria has served on panels, as both a participant and moderator. She is passionate about reducing the prison population, fully restoring directly impacted people’s citizenship, and access to higher education during and after incarceration. Dr. Davis provides individual and organizational coaching and consulting, conducts workshops and presentations, facilitation, as well as public and keynote speaking engagements throughout the country. She is the proud mother of a freshman engineering student and two bonus children.