Dr. Ricardo Davis
Dr. Ricardo Davis

Dr. Davis is an experienced business executive and entrepreneur with extensive background and expertise in education program management, business strategy and management in operations, human resources, risk management, finance, facilities, and real estate. He is a Florida Supreme Court Certified Civil Mediator. He is the former Head Start/Early Head Start Director for Bay Area Head Start/Early Head Start programs and former Director of Grants Management with Lutheran Services Florida, Inc. He is a former Visiting Professor of Management at the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, and former Adjunct Professor of Management and Finance at St. Petersburg College. He is the former CEO of Bay Area Medical Supplies, Inc., and former Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer for Danka Business Systems headquartered in St. Petersburg, Florida. He received his Doctor of Business Administration degree from Walden University in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a specialization in Leadership (Management/Strategy/Governance). He received his M.B.A. from American Intercontinental University in Hoffman Estates, Illinois, with a concentration in Finance, and his Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Technology from Florida International University in Miami, Florida. Dr. Davis also attended the Harvard University Graduate School of Education Closing the Achievement Gap Institute.

He has received numerous leadership awards and served on countless boards and commissions in the community. These include the A Baseball Coalition group, Vice Chair of the City of St. Petersburg Charter Review Commission, and Chair St. Petersburg Housing Authority. He served as Vice Chair of Pinellas County Charter Review Commission 2004, 2006 & 2010. He also served on USF St. Pete Campus Board, Vice Chair of USF Finance Corporation, Chair of USF Property Corporation, Chair Finance Committee Bayfront Medical Center Board of Trustees, and Chair of the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce. He was the first African American elected to this post in the Chamber’s history, and the first to lead a major Chamber of Commerce in the Tampa Bay area.

He currently serves as President of Concerned Organization for Quality Education of Black and Brown Students, Inc. (COQEBS), Vice Chair of Pinellas County Unified Personnel Board, and Chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee of the South St. Petersburg Community Redevelopment Area. Dr. Davis is a member of Bethel AME Church, Vice President of Bethel AME Education and Human Services, Inc., and a former United States Air Force Air Traffic Controller with decorated service in Vietnam.

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