Today we’d like to introduce you to Desiree Davis.
Hi Desiree , so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
From Viral Moments to a Life of Purpose: The Story of Desiree Davis
My story begins in Austin, Texas. My journey has never been perfect, and for a long time, some of the most difficult moments of my life were the moments people knew me for the most. I went viral on social media several times because of negative situations that happened in my life. Suddenly, people who didn’t personally know me had opinions about who I was and what my life represented.
Instead of allowing those moments to completely define me, I decided to use my own voice.
I began openly sharing my life, my opinions, my struggles, and eventually my growth through Instagram, Facebook, and other social media platforms. Some people sympathized with what I had experienced, while others simply appreciated seeing me continue to move forward. I wasn’t pretending that everything was perfect. People were able to watch me experience difficult situations, make changes, grow, and continue trying to create something better for myself.
That visibility eventually opened doors for me in entertainment and media. I had opportunities to appear in magazines, participate in video shoots, host radio shows and events, and travel. One of the most memorable chapters of that journey was working alongside the late DJ Kay Slay in New York. Being exposed to that world allowed me to experience things I once could only imagine.
For a period of my life, entertainment felt like my path. I was doing magazine features, video shoots, radio appearances, party hosting, and building my name. But after DJ Kay Slay passed away, something changed for me. I realized that I needed to discover who Desiree was outside of that world and determine what I wanted my name to represent long-term.
That led me into entrepreneurship.
I returned my focus to Austin and became the owner of a food truck. I worked hard, built customers, and experienced success with the business. Running my own business taught me that I was capable of creating opportunities for myself instead of waiting for someone else to give me one. It also taught me about discipline, customer service, leadership, and what it takes to turn an idea into something tangible.
Eventually, life shifted again, and I relocated to Houston, Texas.
Houston became the place where I began turning my experiences into purpose.
I founded Desire Change Makers Corporation, a nonprofit organization created to empower individuals, with a special focus on helping young women recognize their potential and create better opportunities for their lives. Our mission is centered around transforming passion and potential into purpose.
Through Desire Change Makers, I want young women to understand that where they start does not have to determine where they finish. We work to provide encouragement, resources, mentorship, community involvement, and opportunities that help young women develop personally and professionally. I also want to help women who have dreams of entrepreneurship learn how to take those ideas seriously, establish businesses and organizations, and create something that can change their families and communities.
Community service is an important part of our work as well. Desire Change Makers has participated in food distributions, meal giveaways, toy drives, volunteer initiatives, and other outreach efforts throughout the Houston community. For me, this organization isn’t simply about telling people that they can change their lives. It’s about helping provide the information, support, resources, and opportunities that can make change possible.
At the same time, I’m continuing to build my own future through education. I am studying psychology because my long-term vision extends beyond nonprofit work. I want to continue learning about people, mental health, behavior, and the experiences that shape us. Eventually, I want to use that education to create even more resources for people who need support.
But before any title—entrepreneur, nonprofit founder, student, or public figure—I’m a mother of three.
Motherhood is one of the biggest reasons I continue pushing forward. My children have watched me experience setbacks, rebuild, go back to school, start businesses, serve my community, and continue chasing bigger goals. I want them to understand that life can change unexpectedly, but you can always make another decision about what happens next.
My Work as an Author
Another part of my journey that I’m extremely proud of is becoming an author. Writing has given me another way to turn my personal experiences, lessons, and ideas into something that can reach people beyond social media.
One of my projects, “How I Got Rich,” is especially personal to me. The title has a deeper meaning behind it, with the message that “Success isn’t always measured in dollars.” The book allows me to share a meaningful part of my life and story while showing that being “rich” can represent love, growth, family, purpose, and the things money simply cannot buy.
I’m also developing “Purpose With Paperwork,” an educational e-book connected to the work I do through Desire Change Makers. It is designed to help people who have the passion to make a difference but need guidance understanding the business and organizational side of turning that passion into something legitimate and sustainable.
My books represent two sides of who I am. One represents my personal story and the experiences that shaped me, while the other represents the knowledge and resources I want to pass on to others.
Becoming an author is important to me because I want to leave something behind that people can learn from, relate to, and hopefully be inspired by. I’m building a legacy through my children, my education, Desire Change Makers, entrepreneurship, and now through my writing as well.
My past is part of my story, but it isn’t the conclusion.
I’ve been talked about. I’ve gone viral for things I wish had never happened. I’ve experienced loss, disappointment, public judgment, changes in direction, and moments when I’ve had to completely rebuild. But I’ve also experienced entrepreneurship, media, motherhood, education, community service, and the opportunity to pour into other people.
Today, I’m no longer interested in simply being known.
I want to be known for making a difference.
Everything I’ve experienced has given me a deeper understanding of people who feel like they’ve made mistakes, lost time, been judged, or have to start their lives over. That’s why Desire Change Makers means so much to me. In many ways, I became the change maker I once needed.
My journey from Austin to Houston represents more than a move between two cities. It represents transformation—from having my story told by other people to taking control of my own narrative, from entertainment to entrepreneurship, and ultimately from simply surviving my experiences to using them to serve others.
I can’t change everything that has happened to me, but I can decide what I build from it.
And now, I’m building something bigger than myself.
Desiree Davis
Founder & CEO, Desire Change Makers Corporation
“Transforming Passion and Potential into Purpose.”
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Obstacles & Challenges
Absolutely not. My journey has been anything but a smooth road. One of the biggest challenges I have faced has been grief. Over the years, I have lost around 10 to 12 people who were extremely close to me, including my grandparents, two of my best friends, DJ Kay Slay, uncles, aunts, and friends who played important roles in my life.
For a while, it felt like my entire support system was disappearing one person at a time. These were people who believed in me, encouraged me, rooted for me, and reminded me of who I was when I couldn’t see it for myself. Losing so many of them made me feel like I had to figure life out without the people I thought would always be there to guide and support me.
I was also dealing with my struggles very publicly. Social media became a place where people saw some of the lowest and most vulnerable moments of my life. There were things that happened to me that became public, but there were also things that I personally shared or allowed the world to see. Looking back, I can admit that during certain periods of my life, I didn’t fully understand my worth. I sometimes accepted situations, relationships, and treatment that the woman I am today would never accept.
When you are hurting and still trying to figure out who you are, you don’t always make decisions based on where you want to go. Sometimes you make decisions based on what you’re feeling at that moment. Unfortunately, when you live part of your life publicly, people remember those moments even after you’ve grown beyond them.
One of my greatest challenges has been refusing to remain the person people may remember from an old post, video, situation, or chapter of my life. I had to learn that growth also means taking accountability for my own choices while giving myself permission to become someone different.
Losing so many people also taught me that eventually I had to become one of the people rooting for myself. I couldn’t depend on applause, validation, relationships, social media, or even the support system I once had to keep me moving forward.
Those losses and experiences changed me. They made me look deeper at my life, my purpose, and what I wanted my children and other young women to see when they looked at my story.
Today, I understand my worth differently. I understand that my past doesn’t have to be erased for me to be proud of the woman I am becoming. In fact, many of the challenges I experienced are exactly why I’m so passionate about helping other women recognize their value before they have to learn it the hard way.
The road hasn’t been smooth, but every obstacle has helped shape my purpose. I can’t bring back the people I’ve lost or rewrite the moments I wish I had handled differently, but I can honor them—and honor myself—by continuing to grow, serve others, and make something meaningful out of everything I’ve survived.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
My Work & What I’m Most Proud Of
Today, the work I am most passionate about is Desire Change Makers Corporation, the nonprofit organization I founded in Houston. Our mission is simple but personal to me: “Transforming Passion and Potential into Purpose.” We focus especially on empowering young women and helping them recognize their potential, develop confidence, pursue education, explore entrepreneurship, and create opportunities for themselves.
I specialize in helping people take an idea or a difficult season in their life and figure out what they can build from it. Through Desire Change Makers, I want young women to have access to mentorship, resources, guidance, and real-life examples of what it looks like to change direction. I don’t just want to motivate someone for a moment—I want to help them create an actual plan for their future.
Community service is also a major part of who we are. We have been involved in feeding families and individuals in need, distributing meals in Houston communities, participating in toy drives, volunteering with community organizations, and connecting people with resources. As Desire Change Makers continues to grow, my vision is to expand our programs for young women, entrepreneurship, education, career development, mental health awareness, and community outreach.
I’m also passionate about helping aspiring entrepreneurs and nonprofit founders turn their ideas into legitimate organizations. I understand how overwhelming it can be to have a vision but not know where to begin. I enjoy helping people think through their mission, branding, purpose, organizational structure, and the steps needed to take their idea from something they talk about to something they can actually build.
What I’m most proud of, however, isn’t a title, an event, or even an organization.
I’m most proud that I kept going.
I’m a mother of three, a college student studying psychology, an entrepreneur, and the founder of a nonprofit. I’m building all of those things while continuing to grow personally. My children get to watch their mother pursue an education, operate an organization, serve her community, and continue working toward her goals regardless of what previous chapters of her life looked like.
What sets me apart is that I’m not teaching transformation from a perfect life. I’m teaching it because I’ve had to live it.
I’ve experienced public criticism, loss, grief, mistakes, entrepreneurship, motherhood, starting over, and having to rediscover my own worth. I know what it feels like to have people know you for a version of yourself that you’ve already outgrown. I also know what it feels like to decide that you’re going to create something different anyway.
That’s why I can connect with women who may feel judged, overlooked, misunderstood, or unsure about their next step. I don’t approach them as someone who has always had everything figured out. I approach them as someone who understands what rebuilding looks like.
Ultimately, I want my work to be known for transformation, opportunity, and impact. I want Desire Change Makers to become a place where a young woman can walk in uncertain about herself and walk away knowing that her circumstances, mistakes, or past do not have to determine what she becomes.
I once had to figure out how to turn my own pain into purpose. Now, I’m building something that can help other women do the same.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
My Perspective on Risk
Risk has had different meanings throughout different stages of my life.
There was a time when I was heavily connected to the streets. I dealt with men who lived that lifestyle, I danced, and I made decisions to make money that I am not necessarily proud of today. At that point in my life, I thought taking risks meant doing whatever I had to do to survive, make money, and maintain a certain lifestyle.
When you’re living in survival mode, you don’t always think about the long-term consequences of the decisions you’re making. You’re thinking about right now—how you’re going to pay your bills, take care of yourself, make money, or get through whatever situation you’re facing. Some of the risks I took could have cost me much more than money. They could have cost me my freedom, my future, or even my life.
I take accountability for those choices. I don’t glorify that chapter of my life, but I also don’t hide from it because it helped shape the woman I am today. There were times when I didn’t fully understand my worth or recognize that I was capable of building something different for myself.
As I’ve grown, my definition of risk has completely changed.
Today, I’m still a risk-taker—I just take different kinds of risks.
Moving to another city and starting over was a risk. Becoming an entrepreneur was a risk. Starting Desire Change Makers was a risk. Going back to school while raising three children was a risk. Putting my story out there knowing that people may judge me for my past is a risk. Believing that I can take everything I’ve experienced and turn it into something that helps another woman is a risk.
The difference is that the risks I take today are investments in my future instead of gambles with it.
I’ve learned to ask myself, “If this works, where can it take me—and if it doesn’t work, what could it cost me?” Every opportunity isn’t worth the risk, and every dollar isn’t good money. That’s something I had to learn through experience.
I also believe there are young women living through some of the same situations I once lived through. That’s another reason my work is so personal to me. I can sit across from a young woman who is caught up in the streets, dancing, dealing with the wrong people, or making decisions purely for survival and speak to her without judging her. I understand how easy it is to believe that the life you’re living right now is your only option.
I want her to know that it isn’t.
I’m not ashamed to say that my life has had chapters I’m not proud of. I’m proud that I had the courage to turn the page.
Today, when I take a risk, I want it to move me toward purpose, stability, education, entrepreneurship, and creating a better future for my children and my community. I’ve already taken enough risks that could have destroyed my future.
Now, I take risks that can build it.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/officialsmileyasiann/
- LinkedIn: https://linktr.ee/DesireeLegacy?utm_source=ig&utm_medium=social&utm_content=link_in_bio&fbclid=PAdGRleAUCewdwZG9mAmZkaWQWUNhZoccw6Jutp2uu8ElFcULG5ngUVmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDzEyNDAyNDU3NDI4NzQxNAABpzz1mP4vKbZtJTyKQyolHntySVxTwUnZN6KQd1QfjrNeBm828aU0B4W5PaPh_aem_N8RclgWpzgqvDsOKLwvLUQ
