Robert "Bert" Davis

Veterinarian and museum executive Dr. Robert “Bert” Davis was born on November 1, 1960, in Chicago, Illinois, to Pearlie and John Davis. He received his B.S. degree in animal and poultry sciences with a minor in biology in 1983 from Tuskegee Institute (later Tuskegee University), in Tuskegee, Alabama, and his D.V.M. degree in 1989 from the Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine.

After veterinary school, Davis became an instructor and assistant professor in the department of biology at Tuskegee, serving until 1991, when he became a faculty fellow in the Department of Animal Health at the Smithsonian Institution’s National Zoological Park, in Washington, D.C. From 1993 to 1997, he served as the Park’s supervisory veterinary medical officer. In 1997, Davis accepted a position at Zoo Atlanta, in Atlanta, Georgia, as the director of education and external affairs.

Davis became the vice president of education at Lincoln Park Zoo, in Chicago, Illinois, in 2001 and a biology lecturer and instructor at the Harold Washington College of the City Colleges of Chicago in 2003. In 2005, Davis moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to assume the role of president and CEO of the Zoological Society of Milwaukee. Davis moved to Dubuque, Iowa, in 2016 to become president and CEO of the National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium and the Dubuque Historical Society. In 2017, Davis became principal at DRMD Strategies, LLC, in Milwaukee. In 2019, Davis assumed the role of president and CEO of America’s Black Holocaust Museum, in Milwaukee.

Davis has served on the boards of numerous organizations, including as vice chair of the American Alliance of Museums and chair of its Diversity Committee, chair of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association Diversity Committee and member of its Ethics Board, chair of Quest Charter Management Organization, chair of the Milwaukee Area Technical College Foundation, and as a member of the Association of African American Museums, Thurgood Marshall Scholarship Foundation, Milwaukee Film Festival, the Tuskegee Veterinary Alumni Executive Board, the Visit Milwaukee Multicultural Advisory Board, Independence First, Marquette University College of Professional Studies and Center for Transformational Learning, Milwaukee Collegiate Academy Charter School, the Chicago High School for Agricultural Sciences, the Greater Washington Urban League, the Carnegie Institution’s Academy of Science Education, and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Science Resource Center.

Davis has been the recipient of many honors and awards, including the American Alliance of Museums 2018 5-year Star Advocate, the Tuskegee Veterinary Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus Award, the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Outstanding Service Award for Distinguished Service as the Chair of the Diversity Committee, the National Science Foundation National Role Model award, and the Matthew Jenkins Leadership Award from the Tuskegee University College of Veterinary Medicine.

Davis lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Dr. Robert “Bert” Davis was interviewed The HistoryMakers on January 27, 2022.