Q & A with Stan Davis

   by Nathan J. Comp Stan Davis recognizes the importance of opportunity, and he should, because he's had many. At 37, Davis sits on 11 different prominent boards. Most recently, Gov. Jim Doyle — for whom Davis previously served as chief legal council — appointed him to the Wisconsin Technical College System board.Professionally, he is one of two African Americans in Madison to be made a partner at a law firm, that being Axely Brynelson. And if he weren't busy enough, Davis also owns Impact HR Consulting, which he runs with his mother. For two years, the growing company has helped area businesses recruit and retain people of color in the workforce.Born in St. Louis and raised in Minneapolis, Davis attended UW-La Crosse, followed by law school on the East Coast. After earning his law degree, he returned to the midwest. Davis lives in Sun Prairie with his wife and two children.Davis recently spoke with The Madison Times about how to persevere in challenging times and what young people need to do to become economically independent adults. TMT: What sparked your interest in law? SD: I was an undergraduate at UW-La Crosse. I started in a science related major, and took a couple political science classes and was really intrigued by them. Then I took a Constitutional Law class, and was basically hooked. I realized that studying and practicing law was what I was destined to do. TMT: Where did you get your work ethic?SD: I keep busy; I like to keep busy. I grew up in a house where both of my parents were both very involved in the community. Both were on a lot of boards and did a lot of volunteering. So, to me it's just part of what you do, much has been given, so much is expected. I feel like I've gotten a lot of opportunities in this community and a lot of people have made a lot of sacrifices for me to have those opportunities, so I feel an obligation to do what I can in whatever community I live to make sure others have those opportunities as well.TMT: What kind of work do you do with Madison's African-American community in particular? SD: In the African-American community I'm currently on the board of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute, which works on the grassroots level educating kids and parents and working toward economic development, primarily the black community. I'm also on the board of directors for the Madison Area Urban League, which has the same mission on a broader level. Both boards have a pretty significant impact on what happens in the black community here in Madison and in Dane County. TMT: How does economic development tie into civil rights strategy? SD: When you have people who are empowered economically, and have the right types of professional opportunities and things like that, they're naturally going to be more effective in having an equal stake in society. Instead of begging and asking people to respect your civil rights, if economic development efforts are successful and people are viable and able to participate fully in the community, the civil rights benefits follow directly from that. TMT: What advice do you have for young people or people in general who dream of economic freedom? SD: My biggest advice to the people I talk to is, if you don't have a plan, get a plan. Have a short-term and a long-terms plan. And once you have those plans in place, start taking action to make those plans successful. If you're in the ninth grade and you don't start thinking about college until halfway through your junior year, you're very likely to have problems getting into the type of college that you want to. If you start picking the classes early on that will make you more marketable to colleges, work hard and get the grades, those things will position you well to be able to be more in control of your own destiny. TMT: Were there times growing up or in college where you felt like giving up? SD: To me, even when times seem difficult or discouraging, and there are those times, to me, the easiest thing to do is to keep myself moving forward, is to take a step back and realize how much things have improved in just the short time that my grandparents have been alive. I'm fortunate enough to still have three living grandparents and it would've been inconceivable, even when they were my age, for someone like me to have the kind of opportunities that I've had. That really shows that we've come a long way in this society. So, it's real tough for me to feel too sorry for myself even when things are tough. Frankly, I wouldn't have the option of giving up anyway, because I have a family to support.