Making an Impact
Celebrating Alumni Who Are Making a Difference in Their Communities
President & Founder of K&S Therapeutic Services
Like many successful professionals, Yeshiva Davis ’95 took a few attempts—and earned multiple degrees—before finding her dream career. But each step along the way helped her build the skills and network that led to where she is today: President and Founder of Los Angeles-based K&S Therapeutic Services, and a contributing therapist on national television.
“I took the long route to this career, but it all worked out,” she says.
When Yeshiva first began exploring colleges, she was drawn to Framingham State University because of the support available through the Center for Academic Success and Advising, which stood out to her as a student with a learning disability and aspirations of becoming a teacher. She ultimately majored in Communications, with minors in Psychology and English.
Early in her career, Yeshiva worked at WCVB-TV and in higher education administration. After earning an MBA from Northeastern University, she worked in corporate America in training, marketing and communications roles at companies such as Avon Products, John Hancock and Bank of America.
“I got out of that program and started working in marketing and finance, and I didn’t love it at all,” she recalls. “I remember finishing work on a Friday and dreading going back Monday.”
That turning point led her to revisit a long-held interest in psychology that she’d first explored in high school. She relocated to Los Angeles and enrolled in the Master of Arts program in Clinical Psychology at Pepperdine University, with an emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy.
After completing 3,000 clinical hours to earn her license, Yeshiva drew on her business background to launch a private practice, K&S Therapeutic Services. Today, K&S is a group therapy practice with five mental health therapists helping moms and their families get relief from relationship problems. Yeshiva specializes in treating depression, anxiety, trauma and relationship challenges. K&S also contracts with large community mental health organizations to provide clinical supervision and training for their associate therapists.
In addition to managing K&S, Yeshiva has made several media appearances. She has served as a contributing therapist on OWN’s #LoveGoals, VH1’s Couples Therapy and Entertainment Tonight’s The Insider. Her first television opportunity came in 2012, shortly after Whitney Houston’s death, when a local news station reached out for a therapist’s perspective on the trauma her family might be experiencing.
“After that, I became friends with one of the producers, and they started calling me for commentary,” she says.
Most recently, she was hired as an expert to interview children featured in the Shonda Rhimes Netflix production, BLACK BARBIE: A Documentary, written by Lagueria Davis.
Yeshiva also serves on the clinical advisory board of the Boris Lawrence Henson Foundation (BLHF), a nonprofit founded by actress Taraji P. Henson in honor of her father, who lived with PTSD. In March, she was honored as a Woman of the Year by Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc. Alpha Psi Zeta Chapter, a historically Black sorority founded at Howard University.
“I love the work I’m doing,” she says. “It’s really exciting.”
Brings 5-Star Tuscan Hospitality to Life
Nestled on a forested hill between Florence and Siena, Tenuta Ceccatelli offers guests an unforgettable taste of Tuscany—complete with eco-luxurious accommodations, gourmet cuisine and their single-estate organic wines.
Originally restored by Daniela (Cobuccio) Fagotti ’92 and her husband in the mid-1990s, the 17th-century estate underwent a second transformative renovation in 2017—elevating it to the five-star destination it is today.
The estate now serves as the centerpiece of their thriving travel, food and hospitality business in Italy, where Daniela has lived since graduation.
A Boston native and the daughter of Italian immigrants, Daniela grew up bilingual and chose to attend Framingham State to pursue her passion for fashion design. In the fall of 1990, during her junior year, she became the first student from Framingham State to study abroad in Florence, Italy. Since the University didn’t yet have a formal program, she independently coordinated the opportunity and received academic approval from FSU.
“That was a really special time in my life,” Daniela recalls. “I did the program through Drake University, with academic approval from my professor, Arlene Handschuch, who was very supportive. I studied at the Lorenzo de’ Medici Institute and L’Accademia Italiana Moda. Living and learning in Florence during my junior year left a lasting imprint on both my personal and professional life.”
That semester abroad also changed the course of her life personally: she met her future husband in Florence. After completing her degree at FSU, she returned to Italy permanently and launched a career in the fashion industry—first working in design for a historic Florentine fashion brand, then as a project manager overseeing sourcing and product development across Italy and Eastern Europe for international fashion brands.
In 2001, following the birth of their identical twin boys, Daniela’s career naturally evolved toward hospitality. Drawing on her background in fashion and design, she and her husband began sharing their 17th-century estate in Tuscany with travelers from all over the globe—an early sign of her future in experiential travel. Nearly two decades later, they undertook a second major renovation—transforming the property into what is now the five-star Tenuta Ceccatelli.
“I served as the interior designer for the restoration, using my background in fashion and textiles to bring a distinctive sense of style and authenticity to the space,” she says. “I applied that same experience to design our wine labels, packaging and the branding for Casa Ceccatelli—our fifth-generation, family-run bottega and gourmet food and wine business, dating back to 1890, now offering artisanal foods, organic extra virgin olive oil and boutique wines.”
Daniela is also the founder of DF Tailored Travel & Lifestyle, a luxury travel company that curates one-of-a-kind itineraries throughout Italy. She uses her decades of living in Italy to create immersive experiences for discerning travelers.
“I get to share everything I love about Italy—from the food and wine to the artisans and history,” she says. “It doesn’t feel like work to me.”
Learn more at danielafagotti.com
