Executive Coach and Author
Priscilla brings over thirty years of experience from leadership roles in business, government and academics to her firm PHDouglas & Associates. An executive coach to fortune 500 companies she has guided thousands of leaders individually and in workshops to address the changing business landscape with energy, insight, and understanding. Many view her work as transformational.
In executive roles at General Motors, Xerox and Vertex Pharmaceuticals, Priscilla led and introduced innovative practices and programs. Her experience in government spans decades and many roles. At the federal and national level, she was the special assistant to William H. Webster, director of the FBI, as a White House fellow, a senior advisor for Barbara Bush Adult Literacy Project, and a Presidential appointee to the National Institute of Justice. In Massachusetts, as Secretary of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulations, she provided consumer protection to end predatory payday loans and usury check cashing fees. Appointed by Governor William Weld Priscilla was the first Black woman to hold a Cabinet position in the history of the Commonwealth. She created the Domestic Violence Commission and Hate Crimes Task Force as Assistant Secretary for Public Safety and the publication of the first hate crimes report.
Priscilla generously shares her time and talent: Co-chair of the 2015 International Women’s Forum (IWF) Conference that welcomed 828 leaders from thirty countries to Boston; currently, she chairs the [WF] Ideas Remaking the World Committee. Priscilla delivered keynote speeches at conferences worldwide, from the prestigious Aspen Institute and Club of Rome to forums in Singapore, Australia, South Africa, Japan, and beyond. Currently, her interests are reflected in board memberships of Leader Bank, Massachusetts Women’s Forum, American Repertory Theater, and the Boston Museum of Science. A former instructor in the masters program for Harvard University Radcliffe Seminars, Priscilla taught courses in management, leadership and organizational behavior.
The author of Getting There & Staying There and Woke Leadership: Profits, Prophets and Purpose released in 2021. An avid skier, scuba-diver, cyclist, and theatergoer, she fully embraces a life of action. Honors include a Distinguished Service Award from the Wellesley College Center for Research on Women, and the Abigail Adams Award. Priscilla holds Bachelor of Science and Masters of Education degrees from Northeastern University and a Doctorate of Education from the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where her thesis “Black Working Women” was accepted with distinction.