Kumari Ghafoor-Davis

About Kumari Ghafoor-Davis

Coach Kumari has worked with children and families in social services since 1993. She has worked with children and families with mental health concerns, within the NJ foster care system, crisis units in hospitals and schools. She has been an advocate for children and families her entire career ensuring they are connected to resources to build stronger families. Coach Kumari has worked as a Program Manager, Supervisor in Case Management and an Administrator in halfway houses, group homes, independent living programs and children\'s shelters. In 2008, Coach Kumari formed Optimistic Expectations, a consulting company, where she serves parents, students, educators and professionals in schools, non-profits and churches. She facilitates workshops and trainings on topics from Engaging Parents, Raising Successful Children to Discipline Strategies and Communicating with Children. The curriculum titled \"Powerful Parenting On Purpose\" ensures that parents and professionals are nurturing the whole child to be emotionally, mentally, socially and academically successful. Coach Kumari\'s book Real Talk: Ten Parenting Strategies to Raise Confident Successful Children gives parents a roadmap to raise children who are confident, resilient and great decision makers. She created the game Family Values: The Game That Gets Families Talking, an interactive card game, to assist families in having more tools to communicate and engage their children. The game uses fun categories like; Life and Relationships, Common Knowledge, Family History and Moral Compass, to get families talking about topics that they might not have ever discussed with 2-12 players. Here\'s what people are saying about OE \"Coach Kumari changed the life of my family as a unit. We struggled in communication and learned a powerful work that taught us respect, kindness and compassion.The word was \"fair\", a 4 letter word that Kumari used when we thought of ourselves and not others in the family.\"

Experience

1. Director of Racial Ethnic Justice

   Community Action Lehigh Valley

   Jul 2018 — Present · Bethlehem, PA, US

   Business Owner -Optimistic Expectations

Education

• Columbia University

  MSW, Social Work- Generalist Practice and Programming

  2000 — 2002