FROM DANVILLE TO DESTINY: I GOT NERVE

About the Book

This book is a personal account of Dr. Glaise's family history, educational, political, and lifelong accomplishments from 1950 through 2016. Significant events highlighting her community, church, and organizational involvement and contributions to the families and citizens of Danville, other communities, including Africa, are shared. She also provides animated accounts of various friendships and travel adventures. This rich, historical narrative is woven from my experiences growing up as the daughter of two mill workers. Information transmitted from the griots in the family to relate customs, traditions, and habits in the family are the threads from which this book evolves. As in every African American family, there is usually one person who can tell the story of the family. We must have a perpetual legacy and not disconnect from our past but use it as a foundation for building our future. So it is that I decided to write my story because there are too many gems (words of wisdom) that might prove helpful in providing insight, not only to my family, but to others on this journey of life.

About the Author

Dr. Joyce Elizabeth Glaise is an exemplary leader, politician, educator, orator and world traveler. She is a native of Danville, Virginia, and attended Danville Public Schools. She graduated from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University in Greensboro, North Carolina, with a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master of Science degree. She received an Educational Specialist degree and a Doctorate degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia. She has done further studies at Harvard University and Oxford University. Dr. Glaise was employed as a teacher, School Social Worker and Coordinator of Homebound Instruction in Danville Public Schools (in Virginia) for over 37 years. She has served as Professor and the Director of Virginia University Satellite Campus in Danville, Virginia, and served as Associate Professor and Coordinator of Secondary Education at Virginia State University in Petersburg, Virginia. She currently serves as faculty in the Department of School and Community Counseling at VSU. Dr. Glaise has been a keynote speaker for various organizations and churches and has traveled extensively throughout the U.S.A., Asia, Africa, Europe, South America, and the Caribbean. In 1988, she was elected to the Danville City Council and re-elected for two additional terms. Dr. Glaise has served as president of the Delta Sigma Theta, Inc. Sorority and the Links, Inc. and on the national and regional boards of each.