Today we’d like to introduce you to Pamela Anita Mary Davis
Hi Pamela Anita Mary, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My name is Pamela Anita Mary Davis, and I’ve always believed that true resilience begins with placing God at the center of your life. My journey to founding Queen of Resilience, Inc. was born out of personal challenges, tears, and triumphs. It all began during my freshman year at the University of Missouri-Columbia, where I experienced my first panic attack following the death of my Uncle Arnett Kerr. At the time, I didn’t fully understand the mental health resources available to me. That experience left a lasting impression, forcing me to confront anxiety and depression without a clear roadmap.
Although Mizzou wasn’t my final destination, transferring to Harris-Stowe State University opened new doors. There, I discovered a supportive community, excelled academically, and began the healing process. By 2013, I had earned my B.S. in Healthcare Management. Later, I achieved my master’s in Healthcare Administration from Webster University. I’ve since built a fulfilling career as a Human Resources Specialist, focusing on areas like recruitment and placement, credentialing, and workers’ compensation.
In 2017, I launched Queen of Resilience, Inc. to address the mental health challenges faced by women and college students, empowering them through mentorship, professional development, and increased awareness. As an HR professional, creative consultant, and resilience speaker, I’m passionate about mentoring others to embrace their strength and rise above life’s obstacles.
Queen of Resilience, Inc.(QOR) is a non-profit organization based in St. Louis, Missouri that focuses on teaching women how to be resilient in various areas of their life through mental health awareness, mentorship, and professional development. We have programs such as the Meet the Queen & King Empowerment Program for youth and an extension of QOR called King of Resilience. We have also partnered with Webster University, Harris-Stowe State University, and Goal Driven Counseling for events and programming efforts.
My faith and the wisdom imparted by my late mother have been my guiding lights. Today, I’m honored to share my story, my platform, and my upcoming book, Resilience Found Me: A Memoir of Anxiety, Grief, and Passing the Crown.
Writing the book, which will be released this year, was a deeply personal journey for me. This book is more than a memoir, but a guide to self-discovery, healing, and empowerment. I share my own experiences with anxiety, self-doubt, and grief, intertwining my personal struggles and triumphs with insights designed to help others to reflect on their own lives.
My goal is to show how resilience is built through love, hope, and discipline. The lessons I learned from my late mother, Mae Helen Richard, my faith, and the beauty found in life’s most challenging moments all serve as the foundation for this work. It addresses universal struggles and provides practical tools for self-growth. By the end, I hope others will feel equipped to own their stories, release their pain, and embrace their purpose with courage and authenticity. Resilience isn’t about avoiding challenges; it’s about thriving through them. I am truly aiming to help others turn their challenges into a foundation for joy, strength, and clarity.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Life has been anything but smooth, but it’s through those challenges that I’ve found my purpose. Coping with anxiety and depression during my college years felt isolating. Losing my uncle triggered a storm I wasn’t prepared for, and for years, I struggled to identify and manage my mental health needs. As a young woman of color, I encountered societal stigma and a lack of accessible resources, making the journey even harder.
The transition from Mizzou to Harris-Stowe was pivotal. It was a leap of faith that allowed me to build the resilience I needed. Despite my academic success, navigating anxiety while pursuing my goals was a constant challenge. It taught me the importance of self-awareness, seeking help, and leaning into faith. Founding Queen of Resilience was my way of turning those struggles into something meaningful—to create a support system I wished I had.
With starting a non profit, everyone is intrigued by the why behind starting the business. There were times I shied away from expressing my story with fervent vigor, joy and precision. I put other people in position to speak for me, but everyone wanted to speak with the Founder. My fear of speaking was calling me to the forefront and I was put in a position where I couldn’t hide. I was eager to tell my story one-on-one, but in front of a crowd, it was taxing. The first time I found my love for speaking was when I participated in a pageant, while I was in undergrad. Though I did not leave with a win, I left with more confidence and opportunity for a new gift to arise. After college, I became comfortable with giving presentations as a HR professional, but most did not reflect the real me.
In 2020, I was met with the task of multiple back-to-back interviews and I knew that I had to continue to grow in public speaking. Multiple people began to tell me that I needed to cultivate my gift and soon I decided to join Toastmasters. Toastmasters truly changed my life and I began to fall in love with the rhythm and passion of my voice even more. I was excited about giving speeches and applied the tools that were provided to me. I quickly excelled by coaching others, becoming the Vice President of Membership and now I am an Area Director. A safe community during the pandemic provided me with the tools to become a dynamic speaker filled with joy and a passion to assist others in owning their resilient story.
One of the most difficult challenges I ever faced was leading a team, while growing through grief. I lost my mother in 2019 and my father in 2020. During this time, I remained encouraged because I made sure to surround myself with people who supported me. Some may say, “How do you lead when grief is on your mind and with a broken heart?” My answer would be that you cry, smile, and have a heart to keep going and be transparent. I understood the power of family, a therapist, pastoral care, mentorship and friends who pushed me to become my best. Grief is difficult, but it teaches us that God gives us beauty in traumatic experiences. It also taught me that greatness and making an impact on our youth and community is still imperative, even when life is challenging. The work I do through Queen of Resilience helped me on my own healing journey. One of our youth said, “This organization reminds people that they are resilient.” I smiled, reflected and said to myself, “It’s a reminder to me everyday.”
Even now, as a leader and speaker, challenges persist. Balancing career, community service, and personal growth demands courage, resilience, and adaptability. However, each obstacle reinforces my belief in the power of resilience – not as an absence of hardship but as a testament to our ability to rise through it.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
This mission is deeply personal to me. During my college years, the word “resilience” resonated profoundly. I knew I had strength, but I didn’t have the language to define it. Once I understood that resilience is not just about enduring but thriving, I embraced it as a calling. Today, I proudly say, “I am resilient. God calls us to be resilient.” This revelation became the foundation for my work, where I emphasize that resilience is not just about personal growth but also about lifting others—what I call “Passing The Crown.”
Through Queen of Resilience, Inc., we’ve launched several initiatives. One of our programs is the Meet The Queen and Meet The King Empowerment Program, which equips high school and college students with tools to build resilience, both mentally and professionally. This program focuses on mentorship, mental health awareness, and professional development, creating safe spaces for students to access resources like life coaches, licensed counselors, and educational workshops. We have even included “Destress Days” to provide the students strategies for overcoming trauma, including yoga, positive self-talk, and mental health breaks. I’m especially proud of the impact we’ve had on programs like the TRIO Upward Bound Summer Academy at Harris-Stowe State University, where we’ve empowered students to embrace their inner kings and queens.
Another initiative, launched last Fall, is The Dorm Exchange, which supports incoming college freshmen by providing dorm essentials and toiletries. Starting this program was a leap of faith – we had no budget, just a dream. But sometimes, that’s enough. Through the generosity of our community and our board, we were able to provide necessities for a couple of young women entering college.
Beyond these programs, I use The Resilient Approach, a framework I developed to help individuals see barriers as challenges to overcome. This mindset has been transformative for so many, particularly for youth learning to navigate life’s obstacles. My work is also about bringing people together to celebrate resilience and creativity. Our annual Sip & Speak event is a perfect example. Last year’s theme, “Shake The Ground: Unconventional Paths to Joy,” highlights what we do – advocating for mental health awareness through creativity, storytelling, and open dialogue. It’s not just an event; it’s a movement. At this event, we raise funds in effort to support scholarships and The Dorm Exchange, ensuring that our reach extends even further.
What fuels me is the belief that resilience is not just a personal journey but a shared experience. My background in human resources, which includes recruitment and placement, workers’ compensation, credentialing and employee wellness, has further shaped my approach to fostering growth and positive environments. I also draw heavily from the wisdom of my mother, whose influence guides my leadership and service.
Through this work, I’ve been honored to receive recognition, including the “Women Who Inspire” Award from Delux Magazine and the “Outstanding Alumni in Leadership” distinction from Harris-Stowe State University. But the greatest reward is seeing people rise above their challenges and thrive. That’s what keeps me going – empowering others to find their voice, embrace their potential, and live lives centered on resilience.
Can you talk to us about how you think about risk?
Starting Queen of Resilience, Inc. was a significant leap of faith. I took a chance on an idea rooted in my personal experiences and passion, knowing the stakes were high. Building a nonprofit meant stepping out of my comfort zone, investing time, resources, and emotional energy into something that had no guarantees of success. But my faith guided me. I trusted that this mission was bigger than me, and I’m grateful to see the lives it has touched.
When we were in the process of launching QOR, my aunt passed away, and my mother suffered a stroke. It wasn’t a perfect start, but it was the right start for me. At that time, we didn’t have a grant to fund our events or programming for our youth, but my heart was set on raising mental health awareness in the community. Each time we held a fundraiser, program, or received a donation, everyone doesn’t realize the behind-the-scenes efforts and risks. Last year, we took a leap of faith by launching a new initiative that had been on my heart for years: The Dorm Exchange. We started it without a budget, relying only on the dream. Sometimes that’s how it begins – without everything perfectly in place, but with a meaningful impact. The Dorm Exchange, through QOR, provides incoming freshmen with dorm essentials and toiletries to help them transition to college life. This year, thanks to generous donations from our supporters and the incredible QOR Board, we were able to bless two young women with these essential items.
Writing Resilience Found Me: A Memoir of Anxiety, Grief, and Passing the Crown was yet another bold step forward. I began writing while my mother was in the final stages of colorectal cancer and kidney failure, navigating a challenging work environment, all while seeing Queen of Resilience grow to new heights. I’m not sure if I fully found balance, but I discovered a sense of harmony in continuing to move forward with purpose, even while tears streamed down my face from missing my mother. After my mother took her last breath, I truly believed that purpose shifted in a powerful way for me. I felt as though my mother passed down her strength to me, and now I walk in the prayers she once prayed. Writing became more than storytelling – it became a gift for me to understand who I was after losing my best friend. I realized that a memoir shouldn’t just be about telling a story; it should take others on a journey through your flaws, victories, and traumas, inspiring them to own their own resilient story. Resilience Found Me encourages readers to engage with the Resilience Found Me Wheel, a tool that helps individuals become brave, centered, resilient, present, and prominent. This technique will ignite the belief that there is light within you, waiting to shine across the world, but it starts with finding resilience and owning your story.
Sharing my story so openly forced me to be vulnerable, but it was necessary. I wanted to create a space where others could see themselves in my journey and know they aren’t alone. Taking risks isn’t about recklessness; it’s about believing in something greater than fear. For me, that belief is grounded in faith, resilience, and the power of community.
Each risk I’ve taken – everything from switching universities to starting a nonprofit to becoming an author for the first time – has shaped who I am today. It’s taught me that courage isn’t the absence of fear but the willingness to move forward despite it. And every step forward reassures my commitment to helping others find their strength and resilience.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.qornow.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/queenofresilience/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/QueenofResilience/
