Ariel Davis

Background

About Ariel Davis

Multi-passionate entrepreneur, mental health advocate, craft-enthusiast and doer. Ariel is the Founder of GripCity LLC, a mission-driven e-commerce grip sock brand. She is also the Founder and "Chief Upcycling Officer" of The Brooklyn Teacup, a home decor business that specializes in repurposing vintage fine china into tiered stands, serving trays and meaningful gifts. Prior to launching the businesses, Ariel worked in nonprofit management for The NY Early Childhood Professional Development Institute (PDI) at CUNY. There, she oversaw the day-to-day implementation of QUALITYstarsNY, a statewide initiative geared towards evaluating and improving early education programs. Over five years, Ariel cultivated her ability to lead and manage a large team of in-person and remote staff. She was also called on to harness her natural community-building instincts to bring together the resources needed to address challenges in the state's child care landscape. Ariel is an active member of the NYC chapter of The National Alliance on Mental Illness's (NAMI-NYC) Young Professionals Board. She openly shares her personal mental health struggles through the GripCity brand and donates a portion of proceeds to partnering psychiatric hospitals and mental health initiatives.