LaTeasha Davis ’06, ’08, the CEO and founder of Therapeutic Focus in West Memphis, Arkansas, impacts individuals seeking help and to mentor those seeking a career in therapy.
As a young child growing up in West Memphis, Arkansas, Davis experienced a speech delay at the age of three. With limited providers in the area, her family was told that she would not be able to receive help until she was five years old. Recognizing the importance of early intervention, Davis’ grandmother refused to accept “no” as an answer and found a new graduate speech therapist who agreed to work with Davis free of charge. For years, Davis worked with her therapist for two days a week, learning to articulate her words and express herself.
Years later, while Davis was in high school, her grandmother suffered a stroke and an aneurysm, which required her to undergo occupational, physical and speech therapy. Thanks to the dedicated efforts of her therapists, Davis witnessed her remarkable recovery as she regained her speech and mobility, ultimately achieving independence once again. Davis said these two moments were the initial spark for her passion for therapy.
“I was so intrigued with how occupational therapy helped her to become independent,” said Davis. “I was like, ‘Wow, I want to be able to help people like that.’ Just as that graduate speech therapist helped me overcome my delay, I also saw that occupational therapist helped my grandmother overcome her deficit. And I thought to myself, ‘This is what I want to do for the rest of my life.’”
After graduating high school, Davis enrolled at the University of Central Arkansas, knowing she wanted to be an occupational therapist. After her sophomore year, she applied for the university’s Occupational Therapy (OT) program and was accepted. Davis considers her time at UCA to be some of the best years of her life. She stated, “I met some lifelong friends and professors who were truly there for me. One particular professor, Dr. Lisa J. Mosley, really took me under her wing. She always saw something in me that I didn’t see in myself. She had the confidence for me that I didn’t even have, and so I was really grateful for her because I attribute a lot of my success to her because of what she saw in me.”
After graduating in 2008 with her occupational therapy degree, Davis chose to work as an OT in San Diego, California and later moved to Laredo, Texas. Having worked for a few years in hospitals, mental health settings, nursing homes, sports clinics and an outpatient pediatric clinic, Davis soon heard the call to return to her hometown of West Memphis, Arkansas.
“West Memphis is 68% Black minority in Crittenden County,” said Davis. “We are an underserved and impoverished area and are well below the national average when it comes to the median household income, which is around $26,000. I went to San Diego, and it was like a time warp. They were so far ahead and technologically advanced. So, when I moved back to Arkansas, I was able to bring some of those concepts and principles and techniques here to an underserved community.”
Davis continued, “When I moved to San Diego, and later Texas, I moved because I envisioned success to look like being in a larger city and a larger community. I did not think that success could be here in a small town, but I’m just very grateful that I got a chance to come back. My idea of success truly lies here in my community, and it was important for me to give back to it because of how underserved the Delta area is.”
In 2011, Davis created Therapeutic Focus to help individuals within her community. Therapeutic Focus is a medical service provider for pediatric occupational, physical and speech therapy.
“Our number one goal and priority is providing good quality ethical therapy intervention to children, whether that be occupational therapy, physical therapy, or speech therapy, because our goal is to help them become the best version of themselves that they can be and also to empower not only them but empower their families and loved ones,” said Davis. “As a leader in the business realm and in the state, I think, ‘What if someone would have overlooked me as a child and had not given me a chance?’ I was thinking that I could be the same light to other children. We serve 450 patients on a weekly basis. The reality is that the children of the Delta need to at least have a chance.”
Davis continued, “My grandmother, being a nurse, always told me that you treat everyone as family and you’ll never go wrong in life, and that’s what I do. So, when I come to work each day, I’m coming home. For me, one of the biggest successes is being able to provide therapy to my family, friends and people I know. Knowing that they can come and receive good quality therapy intervention is worth more than gold.”
Aside from running and operating her clinic, Davis also serves as a board member on the West Memphis Chamber of Commerce and oversees the Educational and Leadership Committee. She has created an internship program for high school students at her facility. Currently, she is working with the committee to develop a pilot project where high school students will be paired with local businesses.
“There’s a saying, ‘You cannot become what you cannot see,’” said Davis. “It’s so important that the high school students are able to see other therapists, as well as other occupational, physical and speech therapists entrepreneurs. That is imperative because we can help shape them; we can help change the trajectory of their life. Being in an underserved area, we need more entrepreneurs. We need more businesses. We need more leaders within our community, and this [the internship program] is one way that I can contribute back to the community that I live and grew up in and help shape the community and the world to become a better place.”
Davis has built an impressive career, earning widespread recognition for her achievements. In 2021, she became an alumnus of the Small Business Administration Emerging Leaders Initiative and Goldman Sachs’ 10,000 Small Businesses program and was highlighted in an article in the Memphis Business Journal.
Her success continued in 2022, when she won first place in the Women’s Business Center Pitch Competition, was a finalist for the Small Business Awards Executive of the Year, and was named Enterprising Women magazine’s Woman of the Year 2022. She was also featured in the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette and advocated for Arkansas entrepreneurs on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
In 2023, Davis was recognized in the prestigious Arkansas Business 40 Under 40 list, celebrating notable business and political leaders under 40 in the state. Her accomplishments reflect her dedication, leadership, and advocacy for small businesses and entrepreneurs.
More recently, Davis has decided to further her impact by joining UCA’s Occupational Therapy program as an educator, where she will continue to inspire and instill a passion for helping others.
“I want to be able to ignite a passion for therapy in students,” said Davis. “I want to be able to talk to them about my experiences, tell them about how amazing and awesome therapy is, and how we can be used to improve the livelihood of others.”