Dr. Devonya Govan-Hunt

Dr. Govan-Hunt is a committed community advocate and education leader. After moving to Charlotte from Ohio over 10 years ago, she served as a site coordinator for the Dell Curry Foundation, a high school challenge tutor for Communities In Schools, and assistant director for Wesley Child Development Center. She then became a child development specialist with one of the lead resource and referral agencies in Charlotte. That is where she fostered her passion for improving early care and education systems.

Dr. Govan-Hunt earned her PhD in Early Childhood Education at Walden University in 2011. She’s presented her research at numerous educational forums, including: the National Smart Start Conference, the National Afterschool Association, the National Association for the Education of Young Children, and the National Black Child Development Association. Her research focuses on cultural competency, addressing the preschool-to-prison pipeline, mass incarceration, and race matters.

Dr. Govan-Hunt holds numerous leadership positions, including executive director of Black Child Development Carolinas; president of the Mecklenburg Child Care Association; BCDI-Charlotte board member; co-chair of READ Charlotte’s “Ready for School” Committee, president of the Charlotte Bilingual Preschool board of directors; member of the Leading on Opportunity Council; chairwoman of the Community and Family Engagement Equity Committee for the Charlotte Mecklenburg School Board of Education; member of the NC Think Babies Leadership Team; and leader for the statewide policy group Care and Learning Coalition.

Dr. Govan-Hunt leads Black Child Development Carolinas as a statewide leader fighting to eliminate harsh and unfair disciplinary practices in preschool. In her free time, she enjoys reading, writing, and music. She is the proud mother of two young daughters, McKenzie and Madison.