Fran Davin, has served as volunteer, Board member, mentor and advocate for MacDonald Training Center for more than 15 years, helping to develop programming that elevates the lives of people with disabilities in our community.
After two years of remote work during the pandemic, Fran is once again a frequent visitor on the MTC campus, with clients lining up for hugs for this committed mentor and passionate advocate for people with disabilities.
Her concern for health and welfare issues is reflected in her years of board service as a founding board member of The Spring, the Hillsborough County Mental Health Center, the Tampa Housing Authority and Tampa General Hospital, and her role as Board Chair of the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority (HART). She currently serves on the Board of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tampa, as well.
Among the legendary women trailblazers who transformed our community, such as Betty Castor, Pam Iorio, Sandy Freedman, Doretha Edgecomb, Arthenia Joyner, and Phyllis Busansky, Fran served on the Hillsborough County Commission and Tampa City Council.
Fran has leveraged her extensive personal and professional networks to recruit an impressive roster of more than 60 employers to promote the hiring of people with disabilities, resulting in a more inclusive workforce.
Long before it was common practice, Fran led the initiative for representation of the people we serve, with two current MTC clients serving on its Board of Directors.
Fran was named a 2021 Luminary by The Junior League of Tampa and WEDU PBS and received the 2019 League of Women Voters of Hillsborough County Lifetime Achievement Award.
Inspired by her passion for education, she leads the book club at the assisted living facility where she resides and will soon resume teaching the civics course through Osher Learning Center at USF.
For the love of humankind.