Gordon Jamison Davis (born August 7, 1941) is an American lawyer and civic leader.

[1][3] He is the Founding Chairman of Jazz at Lincoln Center,[1][4][5] one of the four Founding Trustees of the Central Park Conservancy,[1] a Founding Member in the first class inducted into the Performing Arts Hall of Fame at Lincoln Center,[6] a Life Trustee of the New York Public Library,[7] an appointee of President Barack Obama to the board of the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts,[1][8] and a recipient of an honorary degree (LL.D.)

[12] A U.S. postage stamp commemorating Dr. Davis and his work in the social sciences and education of disadvantaged Americans was issued in 1994.

At the time, he was one of only five African Americans who were partners in a New York Wall Street–type corporate law firm.

In 2001 he took a leave of absence from Leboeuf to serve as president of Lincoln Center Inc.[32][1] Davis has represented a variety of institutions in some of the most important public-private projects in New York City, including the New York Public Library, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Mt.

[33][34] Davis and Conrad Harper of Simpson Thatcher organized the concerted efforts of New York's African American law partners which led the New York Bar Association in the late 1980s to establish the Vance Committee to Enhance Professional Opportunities for Minorities (chaired by Cyrus Vance Sr. and composed of the leaders of New York's 35 major law firms).

[35] Davis is one of four Founding Trustees of the Central Park Conservancy along with Elizabeth Barlow Rogers, William Sperry Beinecke and Richard Gilder.

The Conservancy has completely restored and rebuilt and maintains the Olmsted and Vaux landmark Central Park.

In 1989 he joined jazz musician and educator Wynton Marsalis, Lincoln Center chairman George Weissman and author Albert Murray to spearhead the founding of JALC.

He is also a recipient of Jazz at Lincoln Center's Ed Bradley Award for Leadership, and was designated in 2020 as a NYC Living Landmark.