09/22/2014
Raymond B. Davis, Jr.
RAYMOND B. DAVIS, JR. Ph.D.
Ray is formerly the Education Associate for Career Guidance in the Office of Career and Technology Education at the South Carolina Department of Education where he worked 2000-2013. His work helped create the case for stronger career guidance in public schools and provided a “how-to” model through which state legislators, state business and industry leaders, and the Governor’s Task Force gained guidance for the 2005 Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA) in South Carolina. His career development leadership on the Governor’s Workforce Education Task Force led the way for the creation and funding of 550 Global Career Development Facilitator certified career specialists lowering the student-to-guidance ratio to 300:1 in all middle and high schools in South Carolina. Ray successfully led the movement for inclusion of the National Career Development Association (NCDA) CDF curriculum in the EEDA which resulted in South Carolina having the highest number of Global Career Development Facilitators (GCDF) in the nation enhancing delivery of high quality career development. Ray pioneered K-12 career guidance distance learning in a partnership with South Carolina Educational Television. His 90-minute monthly broadcasts, Carolina Careers, brought nationwide career development experts into South Carolina for thirteen years creating a dynamic culture of K-12 career development.
Currently, Ray is the owner of Ray Davis Consulting. He has consulted with educational state agencies in Wyoming, Texas, Colorado, Missouri, Arkansas, in addition to U.S. Army, ACT, and RTI, Inc. He has worked with educators both nationally and internationally during his 36 years of work in education. He is currently the Vice-President of Guidance and Career Development of the Association for Career and Technology Education (ACTE).
Ray earned his doctoral degree from the University of South Carolina (USC) in Educational Leadership and Policy with a focus on career development. He worked in the University Career Center at USC as assistant director from 1985-2000 developing a faculty-driven, career development programs for liberal arts students. Ray served on the initial States’ Career Cluster Initiative contributing to the establishment of the national Business, Management, and Administration career cluster. In 2008, Ray was awarded an IPA Fellowship in the Office of Vocational and Adult Education in the U.S. Department of Education researching and enhancing career guidance in the states’ career and technology education (CTE) programs of study. He has actively researched military career pathways in partnership with US Army and created a national pilot of “Military Career Pathways 101” for the US Army designed to increase awareness of military careers in secondary schools. His state career guidance program was cited in 2010 as exemplary by both the US Department of Education and also the EU’s The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. In 2011, Ray was named a NCDA Fellow. The South Carolina Association for Career and Technology Education presented Ray with a Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.
