Gailda Pitre Davis leads the development and implementation of a broad strategic agenda for ACE Leadership programs, services and initiatives. She serves as the primary liaison to the ACE Women’s Network, a national network that supports women in higher education faculty and administration, and oversees the Moving the Needle: Advancing Women in Higher Education Leadership(link is external) initiative. Additionally, she represents ACE at local and national meetings on issues related to women leaders, diversity and inclusion, and leadership development in higher education. Davis served as the principal investigator for the Creating Global Citizens: Exploring Internationalization at Historically Black Colleges and Universities(link is external) project as well as the co-lead on the ACE At Home in the World(link is external) initiative.
Davis served for 10 years on the District of Columbia’s Higher Education Licensure Commission, the regulatory body for all postsecondary institutions in Washington, DC. She served as chair from 2014-2016. She has also served as an adjunct faculty member in the Higher Education Administration program at The George Washington University.
Prior to joining ACE, Davis was the program director for a nonprofit organization that supports college access for low-income, urban students. She has more than a decade of experience within higher education administration, having served as a dean of students, director of student activities, pre-college program director, residence hall director and career counselor.
Davis’s academic credentials include an EdD from The George Washington University in higher education administration, an MEd from Texas State University–San Marcos in counseling and guidance with a focus on student affairs, and a BS from The University of Texas at Austin in child development and family relationships.
