Lucia Davis-Raiford is President and CEO of The Carrie Meek Foundation, which is the legacy in action of Congresswoman Carrie P. Meek, one of the most influential and productive public servants in U.S. history. The Foundation is a nonprofit organization that advances Congresswoman Meek’s vision for civically engaged, well-resourced and resilient communities, providing opportunities to ALL people through access to education, health care, safe and affordable housing, and economic prosperity.
Ms. Raiford has had a noted career in public service. She was the Founding Director of the New York City Police Department, Domestic Violence Unit in the Office of the Chief of Department, where she was the highest-ranking civilian on the non-administrative side of the NYPD. She became a globally recognized innovator in the development of law enforcement response and crime prevention strategies in family violence. She developed policies, procedures and grant programs that helped turn around the department’s response to the violence that generated more than 200,000 criminal complaints every year. The model has been replicated around the nation and the world through legislators, law enforcement agencies and social service planners in the United Kingdom, Austria, Australia, Taiwan, Japan, South Africa, and several countries in the Caribbean Basin.
Joining Miami-Dade County as the Director of The Office of Fair Employment Practices, her office guided civil and human rights and equal employment policies for the 20,000-member employee base of County Government. As the director of The Office of Human Rights, she ensured that all residents had equal access to employment, credit and finance, housing, and public accommodations. Ms. Raiford transitioned to become the Director of Community Action and Human Services, the largest social services provider in the Southeast area, where she managed multimillion-dollar social programs such as Early Headstart/Headstart, elderly services and supportive programs that improved the quality of life for poor and working families of Miami- Dade County.
Raised in Miami, Florida, Lucia graduated from Bennett College for Women in Greensboro North Carolina. She earned her Juris Doctorate in Public Interest Law from the Antioch School of Law in Washington D.C. A champion for women’s rights and philanthropy in the Black community, she has served on the Board of Directors of The Women’s Fund Miami-Dade, as Chair of the Miami-Dade County Domestic Violence Oversight Board, is a member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and The Links, Incorporated.