Dejanae ‘Deja’ Davis loves to take on new challenges. The Southern California native and star softball player made Duke University her first choice in part because the Durham, North Carolina school did not have a team at the time. And she has committed to take on the #ClimateComeback as EcoAthletes newest Champion to help turn climate and environmental injustice into climate justice.

“I have seen the horrible impacts that climate change has on people who don’t have the means to adapt,” Davis shared. “Sports, and athletes in particular, have a huge opportunity and an obligation to shine a light on climate injustice and lead actions to help turn things around. I certainly want to do my part.”

Davis started doing her part on the softball diamond when she was eight years old, gravitating to the all-important shortstop position.

“I loved playing shortstop because you are in the center of all the action,” she rhapsodized. “You’re involved in the strategy, where to position the other players, trying to hype your pitcher up.”

Hitting — which came naturally to the lefty batter — offered some important life lessons to Davis.

“It’s a lot of fun, hitting, but it is also something where failure is a constant companion,” she offered. “I mean, if you have a .300 batting average, which means you’re successful only 30 percent of the time, you’re a star. So, I had to get used to failure and to bounce back from it, which is important on the field and off.”

Davis proved to be strong at bouncing back — and at most of the game’s other challenges — from early on in her career. The strong competition provided by SoCal youth softball and the temperate weather that allows year-round play helped. And so did her ability to adjust.

“I started out as a switch hitter, which gave me more flexibility to deal with both righty and lefty pitchers,” she recalled. “But, as time went on, I found I was much stronger from the left side of the plate. A slap hitter for most of my youth career, I began to drive the ball better as I got older which allowed me to swing away more often.”

A bevy of college coaches from small Division III schools to big D-I programs took note of her strong hitting along with her solid all-around game. But Davis had her eyes set on a school that had no softball tradition to speak of. In fact, it didn’t have a team.

“Duke was just putting its program together when I was a sophomore in high school,” she said. “My dad was really pro-Duke, saying that, ‘Duke is a fantastic school and being there at the beginning could be great’. The coaching staff saw me play at a camp and loved my game. And I loved the school. It was a perfect match.”

Davis arrived in Durham in the second year of the Duke softball program. Not surprisingly, the team wasn’t very good.

That was about to change.

“My freshman year, there was no pressure,” shared Davis. “We weren’t supposed to be good, and we weren’t. I played second base and did OK. COVID impacted the second half of my sophomore season but, in that first half, we started to click, and I was grateful for the experience. It all came together my junior year. Fans were still not allowed in the stands due to COVID restrictions, which made it hard. That forced us to rely on each other and we sure did! We peaked at the ACC tournament, beating traditional champion Florida State to get to the final and then knocked off Clemson to win it. It was so unexpected — we won the ACC in only the fourth year of the program! And I was named to the All-American team, the first Duke player ever to make it. That was crazy — I never dreamt anything like that!”

Injuries slowed Davis during her senior year, but the Blue Devils thrived again, making it to the NCAA Super Regionals. Then Davis came back for her final season during a year of grad school to make one more run at a possible NCAA Championship. She showed her versatility, playing first base, short stop, in the outfield, and at DH while having a strong year at the plate, hitting .372 with 6 homers and 31 RBIs. Duke parlayed a strong regular season to another run to the NCAA Super Regionals before falling to Stanford.

While Davis and her Duke softball teammates did not take that final step to College Softball World Series, she is excited to help lead progress on the #ClimateComeback, as her interest in climate change goes back to her childhood.

“Growing up in Southern California, environmental and climate issues were at the forefront for as far back as I can remember,” she related. “We camped every summer; I was very fortunate to have access to nature and green space. Climate and environmental policy were taught in high school, which showed me that smart policies can make a real difference in peoples’ lives and on the climate.”

Davis took that knowledge of and passion for environmental and climate progress with her to Duke, where she majored in environmental science and policy as an undergrad and is now in graduate school, working towards her master’s in environmental management focused in economics and policy.

She hopes to work in environmental policy and lead the push towards environmental and climate justice. Towards that end, Davis is working with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) this summer in the Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards.

“The harshest impacts of the climate crisis are falling most heavily on those who are least able to adapt,” Davis asserted. “Those who are low income, people of color and other marginalized groups are sadly at the front of the line. This will continue to be the case unless we make difference-making public policy changes that lead us to a healthier climate for everyone. I want to work to make that happen!”

She sees sports, and athletes in particular, as playing a key role in popularizing and mainstreaming environmental and climate action. That’s why, when Duke field hockey player and EcoAthletes Champion Alayna Burns told her about the organization, Davis jumped at the chance at becoming part of it.

“Athletes have a crucial role to play on climate action,” she pointed out. “Over time, they have led on civil rights, women’s rights and more, but so far, not on climate. That’s why being part of the EcoAthletes Champions is such a big deal for me. I can’t wait to work with my fellow Champions to make a difference on climate and environmental justice.”

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