Her Story
About Carmen
I'm the founder and chair of Davina Royal Foundation, where I manage our volunteer team as we focus on raising money for our first pilot mock-up - the Indigenous and World Music Hall of Fame Museum and Library in virtual reality. I've been creating this vision since 1998, though we officially started the project in 2024, and I would describe the journey as invigorating and exciting and challenging, all at once. My passion is music and art, but my purpose is helping other people thrive, which is how I've moved through the world my entire life. I started out in tourism and ended up working in hospitality right out of school, getting into management jobs and training programs. Then I really started wanting to give back, so my education also became becoming a Master Certified Life, Behavioral, and wellness coach with a focus on youth. I'm also a certified CBD consultant, and I write for a magazine called Leverage Up. The most notable professional achievement I would say is the coaching that I do with young people, helping them connect to their elders, connect to their roots and their ancestry.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Carmen
01What do you attribute your success to?
I would say the number one thing is to not worry about other people's opinion of me. Obviously, you know, in the professional realm, there are, you know, there's room for improvement, there's room for critique, there's room for growth, and I take that feedback, and I welcome that feedback, but I've never stopped to let other people's opinions of me as a human being affect me. They're entitled to their opinions, and whatever they think about me is really none of my business.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
The best career advice that I ever received was to not give up on your authentic self. You hear everyone talk about not giving up and all of that, but I was taught to not give up on your authentic self - to always bring who you are, your talents, your skills, your perspective, to the table. And that's what I try to coach other people, especially on that as well.
03What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
I think the opportunity is the opportunity to use the modern technology, AI, virtual reality, to do good in the world. I think that's a tremendous opportunity, and we at Davina Royal Foundation are clearly embracing that, since we're creating a Hall of Fame library and museum in virtual reality for generations to come. The challenge, I think, is trying to create something like this in an environment that isn't supportive, that doesn't seem to be supportive of preserving our cultures, preserving our voices, preserving our languages. Right now, as we're speaking, there's one Indigenous language that disappears every two weeks, according to UNESCO. Over 40% of the world's 6,700 languages are endangered, again, as per UNESCO. So, I think that's a huge challenge, because when languages disappear, so do ideas and perspectives and voices.
04What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
They're actually the same, actually. It's that preservation of culture and being able to honor your roots, but still celebrating who you are today, who you are in the moment. That's what I believe. It's, you know, we want to honor our ancestors, we want to honor ourselves, we want to celebrate our roots, and, you know, we want to learn who we are each and every day.
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