The New York Times featured her as a visionary. The Obama Foundation tapped her as an outstanding civic innovator. Maybe you’ve heard her on TED & NPR. Shari Davis enriches democracy by returning the reins of government to the people.

Meet Shari Davis, co-executive director of The Participatory Budgeting Project (PBP), a nonprofit that empowers people to decide together how to spend public money. At PBP, she works with colleagues to create and support participatory budgeting processes that deepen democracy, build stronger communities, and make public budgets more equitable and effective.

Davis joined PBP after nearly 15 years of service and leadership in local government. As Director of Youth Engagement and Employment for the City of Boston she launched Youth Lead the Change, the first youth participatory budgeting process in the U.S., which won the U.S. Conference of Mayors’ City Livability Award. Since then, she has been selected for fellowships with the Obama Foundation and Emerson Collective.

Davis first got involved in city government in high school, serving as the Citywide Neighborhood Safety Coordinator on the Boston Mayor’s Youth Council and working at the Mayor’s Youthline. She is a graduate of Boston University’s Sargent College for Health and Rehabilitation Sciences and holds a master’s degree in anatomy and physiology.

About This Session

In Session with Urban Consulate, Davis shares her own journey to discovering and practicing participatory budgeting as a democratic process to build more just and equitable communities, including lessons on:

Budgets as Moral Documents
How Participatory Budgeting Works
How to Make the Case for PB
How to Invite People to Participate
How to Practice Shared Leadership

How To Watch

Watch on your own time, at your own pace — or invite friends or colleagues to watch together and discuss! Share your favorite wisdom by tagging @UrbanConsulate and hashtag #InSession. We’d love to hear what lessons enlighten, challenge and inspire you most.

This class is available for free to the public thanks to generous support from the Ford Foundation. With deep gratitude to Shari for sharing her knowledge and expertise.