Executive Director & Founder

Shadonna Davis, LCSW, PhD

Founder & CEO

The concept of iCAN came in 2000 when Shadonna discovered her passion for assisting teenage mothers.  Shadonna, who was a teenage mother, had a vision to link teenage mothers with resources to improve their children a better quality of life.  One of iCAN’s parenting programs was designed from a group session Shadonna facilitated to teach teenage mother’s parenting skills.  During one of her workshops, she learned that a teenage mother had no desire to read.  Shadonna challenged the teenage mother to partner with her and read a book Random Family by Adrian LeBlanc.  Other mothers heard about the challenge and wanted to participate.  The challenge became a book club known as Literacy Enrichment and Artistry Development (LEAD), which is a program that promotes literacy and creative expression.

Since inception of iCAN, a 501(c) 3 organization, Shadonna has designed evidence based programs using findings from several research projects she conducted with youth.  Shadonna is a researcher and practitioner who specializes in youth development, child welfare, family engagement, and transformative education.  She received a Doctorate in Educational Policy Studies with a concentration in Social Foundations at Georgia State University.  She received her undergraduate degree in Business Administration and a Master of Social Work Degree from Georgia State University.  Her research focuses on service learning, culturally relevant interventions, and youth participatory action research. More recently, Shadonna facilitated two youth-led projects: Books not Bars and WKI (Who Knows It) which allowed a team of urban youth to examine and find solutions for school and community issues.