DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES
Deep Poverty: More Hope; Less Blame

Poverty is a persistent problem in the United States. Dr. Rosie Phillips Davis, president of the American Psychological Association, has chosen to utilize the influence of psychology to join the fight against this societal problem. Davis’ compelling talk will discuss the issues of deep poverty (including hardship among college students), and the initiative that is designed to explore what psychology might have to offer.

Rosie Phillips Davis, PhD, ABPP, is a professor of counseling psychology at the University of Memphis, where she has worked for more than 30 years. Previous roles include serving as the vice president for student affairs, assistant vice president for student affairs/student development and director of the Center for Student Development.
The focus of Davis’ presidency is to address the problem of deep poverty, where a household’s annual income falls below 50 percent of the poverty line. The goals of the initiative are to change public attitudes and perceptions about deep poverty, re-frame negative attitudes toward poverty to garner political support for an effective safety net and build the capacity of organizations to access and use psychological science to more effectively promote and implement evidence-based antipoverty programs and policies. She is a founding board member of the Women’s Foundation for a Greater Memphis, whose mission is to help women break the cycle of poverty through philanthropy, leadership and collaboration.