Meet Michael Davis-Thomas

We had the good fortune of connecting with Michael Davis-Thomas and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Michael, what is the most important factor behind your success?

The most significant factor behind my success Is God first and foremost and my ability to self-advocate, my resilient attitude, and the mindset to persevere and make it no matter the odds. Throughout my life experience and my expertise, I have faced a tremendous number of barriers and obstacles. As a person who’s been a part of the juvenile justice system, the foster care system, and society, I’ve been labeled, stigmatized, and discriminated against. I’ve also had many narratives placed on me before I knew who I was. I say all that to say the success behind me, my brand, and my businesses has been the ability to choose faith, hope, resiliency, and Perseverance despite what I’ve been through and the statistical odds against me.

I may also add that working through my mental health and growing in my faith by navigating the steps of foster care recovery (awareness, understanding, acceptance, and forgiveness) helped me sustain stability, consistency, self-accountability, and responsibility. Which helped me grow and heal from the trauma and abuse I endured.

In addition to the significant success behind my brand in my business, I’ve taken the time to observe, learn and work through jobs, internships, fellowships, and volunteering to gain as much knowledge as possible to be where I am today. I knew that to be successful and transformative in my life, walk, and work, I had to do the internal work to do external work. Also, in retaining all that knowledge from those experiences, I paid my dues to be able to learn the processes, sit at the table and take notes so one day I can have a seat at the table presenting to others. When that time came, I stepped into my purpose, which I call my ministry and what I truly believe is my calling.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?

MDDTSpeaks

MDDTSpeaks is the central hub of my work, brand, and who I am. I’m currently in the process of building an LLC to hold all that I do. MDDTSpeaks LLC will have my child welfare consulting, policy/programming, keynote/public speaking, coaching/training, mentorship, and last but not least, Mental Health/Foster Care/ Juvenile peer support.

Resilient Voices & Beyond Podcast

Mission/Vision:

The Resilient Voices & Beyond podcast is here to showcase the voices of individuals impacted by child welfare who were once silenced. This podcast offers a platform for those voices to be heard and received. Along with that, it’s here to showcase the hard work of community partners, community leaders and advocates, activists, stakeholders, state and federal government agencies, policymakers, legislatures, and more. Also, to bring up a new generation of foster care alum leaders. On this podcast, I hope to educate on reforms, advocacy, policies, prevention, foster care, adoption, kinship, CCIs, JJ, the child welfare system, and more… while challenging and breaking away from the stigmas and labels surrounding it. Also, I will talk about the child welfare system as a whole and the policies and legislation behind it, federally and locally. Finally, I hope to create a dialogue on reform/ advocacy that is already happening and or needs to happen.

And in the works: Resilient Voices & Beyond Foundation

This foundation will focus on giving back to the foster care alums and child welfare community and helps to build bridges, resources, networks, connections, and relationships to fill in the gaps and disparities as we know them.

This foundation will also do much groundwork in those communities and break down the narratives and stigmas in minority and urban communities. I hope to be able to support such things as bringing back community villages, community gardens, afterschool programs, and more to eliminate violence and abuse. I also hope to uplift mental health support and self-care, cohesive health family relations, Safe, stable parenting supports, and more in communities across America, especially Michigan.

Finally, this foundation will work internationally with third-world/undeveloped countries by Funding education to interested individuals and helping develop their nation’s child welfare system that preserves heritage, culture, and family in hopes of limiting the need for international adoption if possible.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
God, Stephanie R. Coles, Whitney Johnson, Kassie Kretzschmar, Darius Pettway, Norman M Norwood, Andre Kemp, Dameron R. Spain, Sue Dust, Chris Klemish, Mikala Porter, Dinah Schaller, Carrie Davis, Aland Stamps, Makeda James, Jessica Ray, Jayonna Yahsha, Tashala Burgess, Amber L. Jones, and all the others, my teachers, my staff, and all my foster alum brothers and sisters, and more.

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mddtspeaksinc/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-d-davis-thomas-bb1b7a18a

Twitter: @MDDTSpeaks

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MDDTSpeaksINC

Youtube: https://youtube.com/channel/UCmIL0dadmN1Pg7zj1jf4GwA

Other: https://www.facebook.com/michael.davisthomas.7