Priscilla Douglas

Biography

Priscilla H. Douglas is a renowned leader and an action catalyst, addressing the changing business landscape with energy, insight, and understanding. Her decades-long career in government, academia, and business—where she often led the way as the first woman and the first African American—has informed her holistic and forward-thinking view. A sought-after speaker, Priscilla fully engages her audiences, igniting conversations, driving contribution, and inspiring action for maximum influence. Priscilla has been the keynote speaker at conferences worldwide, from the prestigious Aspen Institute and Club of Rome to forums in Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Japan, and beyond. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Boston Public Library, International Women’s Forum, Massachusetts Women’s Forum, American Repertory Theater, and the Boston Museum of Science, and she has been elected by her peers to serve on the White House Fellows Alumni Association. In executive roles at General Motors, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, and Xerox, Priscilla led and introduced innovative practices and programs. She was the special assistant to William H. Webster, director of the FBI, as a White House fellow, and for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, she held a number of key positions. As assistant secretary and then cabinet-level secretary of consumer affairs and business regulations, she developed a framework for the deregulation of the electric utility industry; provided consumer protection to end predatory payday loans and usury check cashing fees; and implemented total quality management practices across the agencies. And as assistant secretary for public safety, she created the Task Force on Domestic Violence and the Hate Crimes Task Force, which have been supported and expanded by each Massachusetts governor and replicated in other states. Priscilla is also the author of Woke Leadership, Profits, Prophets & Purpose published in April 2021 and Getting There & Staying There.

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