100 WOMEN TO KNOW IN 2023: DR. DORIS H. DANCY

RISEHER 100 Special Edition

Women To Know In 2023

REDEEMED PEDAGOGUE LEADER

Forgiveness Is For You

DR. DORIS H. DANCY Pen To Paper Writing Consultant Forgiveness Lifts The Weight Off Your Shoulders

DR. DORIS H. DANCY

is an accomplished and award winning educator, speaker, writing consultant, playwright, musician, wife, mother and now author. Her life’s focus has been educating our youth in an appreciation of both the written and spoken word.​ Dr. Dancy is a lover of the written word. As a child, she read and wrote stories, poems, and plays.

There was always something extremely fascinating to her about different characters, their behavior, and how they spoke. Words always drew her in, and she loved painting pictures with them.

Her mother taught her her favorite poems and read text to her, and she learned to enjoy the power of sentence rhythms and the flow of thoughts.

Today, Dr. Dancy creates her own stories centered in her deep belief in Jesus Christ. A writer of redemptive love series is designed to communicate her passion: helping others see the power of redemption when life looks like it can never be restored. She absolutely loves to tell the story of our human frailties and how, despite their harshness, there is always the gift of the illuminating light of God’s redeeming grace.

Dr. Dancy received her BA Degree in English from North Carolina Central University in Durham, North Carolina and began a teaching career in both English and Spanish. She was graduated from Hampton University in Hampton, Virginia with a MA in English Education. Later, she received her Ph.D. from Trinity International University of Ambassadors in Pensacola, Florida. During her career, she became Chairperson of the English Department, English Teacher Specialist, and later Supervisor of English and Reading K-12 for Hampton City Public Schools.

Dr. Doris H. Dancy, of Yorktown, VA, is an awardwinning educator, writing consultant, editor, and novelist. She received the 2014 International Book Award Finalist recognition for her debut novel Jagged Edges. Her second novel,Shattered Pieces won the 2015 Reader’s Favorite Five ~ Star Book Award, and the 2015 International Finalist Book award in two categories: Religious and Romance Fiction.

CONNECT: www.dorishdancy.com ddancy.pen2paper@yahoo.com www.facebook.com/doris.dancy.9/

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R: How would you describe your journey of becoming the woman and CEO you are today?

DR: My journey, in many ways, has been “the road less traveled.” While I started as a classroom teacher, I had the opportunity to become a leader for many. I became the first African American to hold the title of Supervisor of English and Reading K-12 for the Hampton City Public School System in Hampton, Virginia. In this position, I was determined to share my love of reading and writing with as many kids as I could get in front of me. That is when I stopped teaching the writing process the exact way it had always been taught and developed my own strategic plan for anyone who wanted to learn to write better. The success of this program found enormous favorable outcomes. That, alone, resulted in catapulting me into an outstanding educator among a multitude of teachers, principals and other administrators both inside and outside of my school district. When I retired from my supervisory position, I started my business, Pen To Paper Writing Consulting, LLC. I traveled throughout Virginia teaching my writing process, and after three years of traveling, I decided to come home and write Christian Romance novels. My goal in these works of fiction is to help men and women of any age to learn to manage their relationships in very positive ways. I cannot say that the journey has been easy by any stretch of the imagination, but with Jesus as my source of strength, nothing has seemed impossible.

R: What would you say is most rewarding in what you do?

DR: My greatest reward comes in seeing the success of so many children learning to communicate more effectively and seeing in their eyes the joy of comprehending something they previously had found quite difficult.

R: What advice would you give someone who wants to transition from being an employee to entrepreneur?

DR: Anyone who wants to take this huge step should first of all take a business course and chart out their business plan. This will give some clear direction from which to start. Once the plans are set, be resilient knowing that some things take time, some things will change, and all things require trusting God.

Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things which you do not know.

-Jeremiah 33:3

Dr. Doris H. Dancy Interview with a Women To Know In 2023 R: What are three traits you feel an entrepreneur must have?

DR: Entrepreneurs should have the foresight to know when they need help from others. They should be resilient when they see something is not working, but then be willing to find a better way. Above all, they must have a vision for what they want, have a passion for it, and never allow anyone to steal their dreams.

R: Why do you what you do?

DR: I love to teach because it gives me a chance to see the success of others. The messages in my writing help provide strength to those who are willing to hear. These two things, teaching and writing are my passions, and I am elated when others are elevated from what they learn from me.

R: How do you persist in the face of challenges within your business?

DR: I persist through difficulties because I am passionate about what I do, and when challenges come, as they always will, I refuse to believe that there is no answer to the problem. I never allow difficulties to steal the gifts and plans God has put in my hands.

R: How do you measure success?

DR: For me, the measure of success is if I have helped someone else. If my actions, my words, my gifts have provided at least a glimmer of hope for another person, then I view that as success.

R: 100 years from now when people learn about you, what do you want to be known for?

DR: One hundred years from now I hope people have learned one of the major lessons from my novels: Forgiveness is for you, not the person who hurt you.

Forgiveness lifts the weight from your shoulders, eases the pain, and allows you to open your heart again.

R: Give three tips to new business owners, and leaders.

DR: Take a business course.

Find a knowledgeable mentor.

Be patient.

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