Danyell C.

CEO at The Strengthening Group, LLC

Leadership

Education: University of Arkansas at Little Rock - University of Arkansas
Little Rock, AR, USA

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Biography

Dr. Danyell Crutchfield Cummings has 26 years of experience in public education, 18 of those in leadership as a district administrator with the Little Rock School District. She was honored with the Teacher of the Year award in 2003 and an Award of Excellence in Education in 2005.

Dr. Cummings has a leadership consulting business called The Strengthening Group, LLC where she works with clients through speaking engagements, coaching, or consulting to help them harness the power within. She has been a keynote speaker for universities, churches, city government, civic and social organizations. She has presented at leadership conferences, provided leadership coaching for financial groups, and more.

Dr. Cummings has a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature, a Master of Science in Secondary Education with an emphasis on Special Education and Assessments, and an Educational Specialist in Educational Administration and Supervision from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has a Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville where she was honored with an Outstanding Doctoral Student of the Year award in 2011.

Dr. Cummings has a received many awards and recognitions, including being the High Profile feature in the Arkansas Democrat Gazette in 2022. She was also featured in an Inviting Arkansas article entitled “Greatness from Humble Beginnings” for her work in the community. She was awarded the 2021 Irma Hunter Brown Women’s Leadership Award by the Arkansas Democratic Black Caucus at the King Kennedy Awards ceremony, and she received a Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce 2021 Leadership Recognition Award. She received the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Jacqueline O’Dansby Educational Leadership Award in 2020. She is a Sister Friends United 2018 Women of Excellence award recipient, and she was honored with the Outstanding Educational Partnership Award from UA Little Rock School of Education in 2017.

Dr. Cummings is a Presidential Leadership Scholar alum and a past chairman of the Little Rock Chamber Leadership Greater Little Rock program. She co-chaired a successful milage campaign for the City of Little Rock. She served on many boards as a director, she is past president of the UA Little Rock Alumni Association Board of Directors and serves as chairman of the Distinguished Laureate Lecture Series for the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame Foundation.

Dr. Cummings is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. and Saint Mark Baptist Church and resides in Little Rock with her family.

Passion

I'm passionate about empowering women, children, and men to be their best selves no matter what. I smile knowing that I helped someone solve a problem, believe in themselves, lead better, be better.

I am willing to travel

More than 100 miles

When it comes to payments

I always get paid for speaking

Topics

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Best Story

You are your best thing. You've got to decide that this is true. Take opportunities to improve "your best thing"...what it looks like, smells like, sounds like. Decide what "your best thing" enjoys or would like to learn and seek ways to do and monetize that or seek opportunities to learn what "your best thing" would like to learn and leverage it. Either way, you will be better than where you began. Once you learn the power of "you", you will be unstoppable.

Origin Story

I got to where I am by God's grace and mercy. I come from a very large family of 15 children who had little money, little education, and limited resources. I was the fourth in my family to graduate from high school and the first to graduate from college. I knew that I wanted to live a better life. I sought out ways to be active on my college campus and as a result, I found favor with my professors who gave me experiences I would not have received otherwise. I sought opportunities to grow in my profession and was afforded experiences that would propel me into leadership fairly early in my career. As I developed my passion and found ways to incorporate it into my work, I knew that I wanted to make a broader impact beyond my immediate career. I determined to start a business that would motivate and empower others to reach their full potential.