Nadia Maria Davis has a lifetime record of passionate work and dedication improving the lives of others. Born the youngest of seven children to ethnically mixed parents of Native American, Mexican, and German descent, her spiritual inspiration since his death in 1994 has always been her father, best known as “Wally” Davis - an orphaned field worker at the age of 9, who later became one of the first Spanish speaking attorneys in Southern California, founding the Orange County Hispanic Bar Association and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
Wally Davis is also best known as the lawyer who made ‘Brown vs. Board of Education’ a reality in California when he successfully sued the Santa Ana Unified School District for “discriminatory ability grouping” of non-English speaking children. The lawsuit resulted in testing for aptitude in a student’s language of their origin rather than English.
Nadia received her Bachelors Degree in Sociology with a specialization in Juvenile Justice from U.C.L.A. in 1993. Thereafter, she earned a Juris Doctorate from Loyola Law School in 1996 and has been a member of California State Bar since 1997.
At U.C.L.A. Ms. Davis led numerous efforts to empower and inspire inner-city youth, including providing mentorship through Project Motivation, an internship with FOX Television Show “In Living Color” studying ethnic stereotypes, and assisting re-entry efforts of paroled youth at the David Kenyon Juvenile Justice Center. At Loyola Law School, she chaired the Public Interest Law Foundation and led its pro-bono efforts, studied Human Rights and Environmental Law in Central America, and transcribed law books for a blind student.
Following law school, she authored a legal handbook and conducted seminars throughout the state for challenged immigrant youth seeking a higher education. She was a member of Congresswoman Loretta Sanchez’s legal team, protecting the rights of new citizens against unfounded accusations. She ran Senator Lou Correa’s fundraising efforts in his first bid for elected office to Assembly in OC and then spearheaded bi-partisan political efforts to increase voter registration in low-income communities through the Southwest Voter Registration Education Project.
As the youngest Latina and Native American in local office, Nadia was elected to the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Trustees in November of 1998. S.A.U.S.D. is one of the largest, densest school districts in the state. While serving as Board President, the District passed a large school construction bond. Nadia negotiated multiple issues involving a federal base closure, led District efforts to increase college attendance rates, reduce teen pregnancy rates, and improve collaboration with City, County, State, and Federal elected officials.
A passionate advocate for youth justice, Nadia worked for some of the largest pro-bono law firms in the nation, including Public Counsel, The Center for Human Rights & Constitutional Law, and the Mexican American Legal Defense & Education Fund. Most notable, however, is her leadership in obtaining the freedom of Orange County’s son, Arthur Carmona, a wrongfully convicted 16 year-old. After nearly 3 years of legal filings, lobbying, petitions, press coverage, raising funds, and securing top investigators and legal representation, Arthur was eventually freed.
After marrying then State Attorney General Bill Lockyer, becoming a mother, and moving to Northern California, Nadia continued her legal work by focusing on victims of interpersonal violence. She was the Executive Director of the Alameda County Family Justice Center, helping children and families throughout the County cut through red tape to get the help and support they needed. She led collaboration of multiple public, non-profit, and government agencies in efforts to provide more easily accessible, coordinated, efficient and effective services to victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual exploitation, elder and child abuse. Under her leadership, the Family Justice Center was recognized by the California State Association of Counties as a national model of best practices in public-private partnerships.
Continuing her leadership as an public official, Nadia was elected as a County Supervisor in 2010 and represented over 350,000 constituents in 5 localities in the East Bay of California. She chaired the SSI Advocacy Committee addressing mental health and homelessness in the County as well as led complex policy and service delivery change in the areas of family safety, transportation, criminal justice, and youth violence.
Nadia has personally faced and overcome multiple challenges and hardships. In July of 1999, while on the school board and assisting Arthur Carmona, Nadia suffered a near fatal car accident and was not breathing when found. She suffered a serious concussion, slight brain hemorrhage, 22 broken bones, a punctured lung, and internal bleeding. Regardless, she returned to work in her wheelchair and continued her efforts improving the lives of others.
She is a survivor of childhood sexual trauma and racial bullying. This fed her unwavering commitment to civil rights and victims of interpersonal violence. As an adult, she abruptly lost her father, best friend, and a child in utero. Shortly thereafter, PTSD, depression, and chronic pain heightened to unbearable levels she tried to manage on her own through self medicating. Vulnerable, she was thereafter blackmailed, exploited, and violently assaulted by a man she met while seeking help. The press and public attention on her troubles was relentless and shame filled.
Nadia remained steadfast and committed to her recovery. Over the course of a grueling seven year journey, she eventually achieved a healthy and safe life for her family. Most of all, she returned to her true self and spiritual home within where her father’s inspiration shines on.
All the while, her work assisting others never faltered alongside her commitment to recovery. She become a certified Kundalini Yoga Instructor in 2018 and further augmented her training in Mind & Meditation, Conscious Communication, and the Japji Language. She was certified as a Domestic Violence Advocate in 2014 through the Long Beach Womens Shelter. While pregnant with twins, she worked pro-bono through the Public Law Center and raised funds for the music program at her son’s middle school.
Her story continues to inspire individuals of all ethnicities, gender identifications, disabilities, addictions, injustices, and traumas.
Today, she and her ex-husband are best friends and happily co-parent sharing enormous gratitude for their three amazing sons Diego, Harrison and Elijah.