Matifadza Mati Hlatshwayo Davis
Tribute
You should see how Dr. Matifadza Mati Hlatshwayo Davis directs public health initiatives as St. Louis's Health Director while applying her Zimbabwean heritage of community care to raising her two children with husband Corey. Beyond her infectious disease expertise, we honour the pandemic management balanced with parental nurturing, the public health campaigns developed between family dinners, and the physician who has diagnosed societal ills and childhood concerns with the same compassionate attention.
Profile
Dr. Matifadza Mati Hlatshwayo Davis is an internationally recognized infectious diseases physician and public health expert. In 2021, she was appointed as the Director of Health for the City of St. Louis, Missouri, becoming the first Black woman to hold this position in the city’s history. Prior to this role, Dr. Hlatshwayo Davis served on the city’s Joint Boards of Health and Hospitals and co-chaired the Fast Track Cities initiative, focusing on ending the HIV epidemic. Her leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic and her commitment to addressing health disparities among historically marginalized groups have been widely acknowledged. Dr. Hlatshwayo Davis completed her medical degree at the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine and earned a Master’s in Public Health from Case Western Reserve University. She then pursued an internal medicine residency at University Hospitals Case Medical Center, followed by a fellowship in infectious diseases at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis. Her academic and professional journey reflects a deep commitment to health equity and community engagement. Beyond her professional achievements, Dr. Hlatshwayo Davis is married to Corey Davis, a public health expert and attorney, and together they have two children.