Knoxville Mayor Indya Kincannon has appointed Community Schools Director Tiffany Davidson to serve as Executive Director of the City’s Police Advisory & Review Committee (PARC).
“Tiffany’s passion for children and families and her strong reputation as a community builder make her the perfect choice to lead PARC,” Mayor Kincannon said. “Since 2013, she’s served as a tireless community schools advocate and strategist – someone who can bring people together, a trusted leader who respects others and earns their respect in return. Most of all, she cares about our community and fights for equity and fairness.”
Davidson, who begins at PARC on Nov. 1, said she is “deeply honored” to be selected to serve – and she promised to be a good listener and “a convener of people.”
“I have spent a large sum of my career learning what it takes to build and sustain relationships between multiple groups of individuals and entities within our city,” she said. “Serving as an advocate and a convener of people, I plan to utilize strategic and intentional efforts to create a sense of listening, understanding, accountability and respect.”
Davidson currently serves as Community Schools Director for the Knox Education Foundation, supervising school-based coordinators, developing relationships with school principals and staff, and assisting with strategic planning to expand the reach and effectiveness of each community school.
Prior to serving as director, she was a Community Schools site resource coordinator, and from 2011-13, she managed a Project GRAD Knoxville campus. Davidson was a case manager for Cherokee Health Systems from 2010-11, and from 2008-10, she was a family advocate for the Child Advocacy Center.
Davidson earned her master’s degree in criminal justice at Bethel University in 2014. Before that, she’d earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Tusculum College.
PARC was created in 1998 to provide an independent review of police activity and make recommendations to the Chief of Police. It is comprised of seven volunteers served by a full-time executive director hired by the Mayor.
Davidson will serve as PARC’s fifth Executive Director, succeeding LaKenya Middlebrook. Mayor Kincannon elevated Middlebrook in August to serve as the City’s first-ever Director of Community Safety, a new cabinet-level position. Middlebook oversees and coordinates all aspects of community safety, increasing collaboration between the Mayor, her leadership team, KPD, KFD and other community partners.