Diversity Champion Sharon Harvey Davis passes at 68

On August 12, 2024, Sharon Harvey Davis, one of the greatest champions of diversity in Saint Louis, passed away.

At an early age, Sharon was exposed to the harsh realities of racism and housing inequities. Sharon’s father, who was active in the civil rights movement, made a commitment to his family that they would not live in a segregated neighborhood and that his daughter would not attend a segregated school.

At the age of 7, she and her family, the only Black family at the time, moved to Florissant, Missouri, where Sharon and her parents had to overcome red lining, verbal and physical threats.

Sharon’s mother taught elementary and middle school English for the University City School District. Sharon’s elementary education was provided by the St. Louis Archdiocese, but her parents wanted her high school education to be in a more diverse educational setting than what was available at the time in her local school district. Therefore, Sharon made the trek from Florissant to University City daily with her mother to attend high school.

After the [Adam’s Mark Hotels (HBE Corporation)] discrimination lawsuit was settled with the U.S. Department of Justice, Sharon designed, implemented and had oversight responsibility for the consent decree to design, deliver and manage diversity training of nearly 10,000 employees at 26 locations.

Sharon continued her education at Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science Degree and St. Louis University with an Executive Master’s Degree in International Business.  She also became a Certified Diversity Professional/Advanced Practitioner in Diversity Management. After completing her undergraduate education at Washington University, Sharon began her career working in human resources at A.G. Edwards (Wells Fargo Financial Advisors) and continued working up the corporate ladder at McDonnell Douglas, Dayton Hudson Department Stores and Inroads. After returning to school and with the completion of her Master’s Degree at St. Louis University, Sharon was hired by Adam’s Mark Hotels (HBE Corporation) as assistant personnel director. Shortly after she began, the corporation was hit with a large discrimination lawsuit by the NAACP and the U.S. Department of Justice.

Sharon became the Director of Diversity and later was promoted to Vice President of Corporate Affairs responsible for the minority supplier program, community affairs, diversity hiring and outreach and acted as corporate spokesperson. After the discrimination lawsuit was settled with the U.S. Department of Justice, Sharon designed, implemented and had oversight responsibility for the consent decree to design, deliver and manage diversity training of nearly 10,000 employees at 26 locations. Prior to the diversity training, Adam’s Mark Hotels were given an F ranking from the NAACP annual published rankings. Two years later, after the diversity training was completed, Adam’s Mark Hotels received a B ranking by the NAACP.

Sharon completed her career at Ameren where she was hired to start the first diversity program at the corporation. While at Ameren, Sharon held the positions of diversity manager, diversity director, which culminated in her being selected as Vice President, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion ane reporting directly to the CEO. Sharon built a nationally recognized, award-winning DE&I program. After joining Ameren, Sharon launched many new programs including the Inclusion Cruiser bringing DE&I training to outlying Ameren locations and community events. She established Employee Resource Groups to support veterans, women, minorities, multi-generations, the disabled and LGBTQ employees in the workforce and made sure that annual corporate wide diversity training was shared and made available to the public at no cost. An internal and external diversity website was launched to increase outreach. Under Sharon’s leadership an Ameren Diversity Ambassador Program was also developed that includes over 200 Ameren employees who volunteer to provide diversity peer training and support corporate DE&I initiatives. Sharon created the Diversity Festival and Celebrate Ameren corporate family events that allowed employees and their families to spend a day learning and participating in fun activities about DE&I. These events were attended by over 5000 Ameren employees and family members. Under Sharon’s leadership, Ameren was recognized with several national awards, ranking as the Top Company for Utilities, Top Company for Black Executives, Top Company for Veterans by DiversityInc, Black Enterprise SO Best Companies for Diversity, the Human Rights Campaign Foundation Best Place to Work for LGBTQ with a Corporate Equality Index score of 100%, Top Military-Friendly Employer by G.I. Jobs Magazine and Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion.

Sharon served extensively in her community as a board member of Teach for America, St. Louis Public School Foundation and St. Luke’s Hospitals. She also served as Board Chairman for NCCJ (formerly National Coalition of Christians and Jews) and FOCUS St. Louis. Her service extended to many civic organizations. Sharon was a past president of the St. Louis Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Incorporated. She was also an active member of Alpha Kappa Alpha, Sorority, Incorporated and the Gateway Chapter of The Links, Incorporated.

In addition to her stellar career as a diversity leader, Sharon was always a strong advocate for professional development and mentorship. Upon hearing about the death of Sharon Harvey Davis, Morgan Williams, a mentee and sorority sister had this to say: “She will forever be in our hearts and we will forever be changed because of her.”

Sharon was a beautiful and generous human being who graced our earth for 68 years. She leaves behind two adult children, Preston and Cori. 

Visitation will be held Friday, August 23, 2024 from 5:00 PM to 7:00 PM at
Salem United Methodist Church, 1200 S. Lindbergh Blvd, Saint Louis, MO 63131. The funeral will take place Saturday, August 24, 2024 at 10:00 AM at Salem United Methodist Church and the interment will follow at Valhalla Funeral Chapel, Crematory and Cemetery, 7600 St. Charles Rock Road Saint Louis, MO 63133. For more information or to honor the memory of Sharon Harvey Davis and her legacy by planting a tree, go to: https://www.laynemortuary.com/obituary/Sharon-HarveyDavis.