Fellow: Veteran Arts & Language Project

CJ Davis is a Mexican American acrylic portrait artist, public health scholar, and community advocate whose work centers on memory, identity, and care. As the daughter of two Army medics and a longtime caretaker for her disabled veteran father, Davis brings an intimate understanding of service, resilience, and healing into her artistic practice. Her portraits often explore the emotional landscapes of individuals and communities shaped by trauma and recovery, bridging her lived experience with her academic focus in public health. In addition to her visual work, she is the author of Resurrection: Returning to Roots from Trauma, a book that reflects her commitment to storytelling as a pathway to healing and social change. She has also shared her work and advocacy twice on the TEDx stage, amplifying conversations around art, diversity, and healing.

Davis is a Veterans Research Fellow at George Mason University, where her interdisciplinary work connects art, research, and advocacy. She will be featured in the upcoming exhibition As You Were, highlighting narratives of military experience and identity.

She is also currently contributing to the George Mason University Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter Memorial for the Carter School of Conflict Resolution and Peace, where she is creating portraits of Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter. Through her work across nonprofit spaces, research, and the arts, Davis continues to advocate for community centered approaches to healing, using portraiture as both a personal and collective act of witnessing.