Susan J. Davis, EdD, is a research scientist and Be CALM trainer at UNC-Chapel Hill’s Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and a member of the UPSIDE research team. Her work focuses on school-based mindfulness and social-emotional learning, educational leadership, and the implementation and sustainability of practices that support student and educator well-being. In her work with Be CALM, she provides professional development, coaching, and implementation support to school leaders and educators implementing whole-school mindfulness and well-being practices.

Davis earned her doctorate in Leadership for Educational Equity from the University of Colorado Denver, where her research examined mindfulness-based program implementation and community wellbeing. She completed postdoctoral research at UNC-Chapel Hill, supporting large-scale, federally funded studies of social-emotional learning and inclusive practices. She brings almost 20 years of experience in K–12 education, including school counseling, student support, and district-level social-emotional learning.

Davis serves in a leadership role with the American Educational Research Association’s Social and Emotional Learning Special Interest Group and on the editorial board of the Journal for Trauma Studies in Education. Her scholarship and professional work center on strengthening school systems and conditions that support individual and collective wellbeing.