In 1980, Davis co-founded the Robeson County Center for Community Action, an organization based in Lumberton, North Carolina, and works on sustainable economic development, environmental education, and community engagement in southeast North Carolina. She contributed to several North Carolina nuclear and toxic waste environmental justice campaigns. Chavis was a Commissioner of the Racial Justice Commission of the United Church of Christ. In 1991, Chavis was a First National People of Color Leadership Summit planning committee member.

Chavis served as the Center for Community Action’s Chief Operating Officer until 2006 when she became the Executive Director of NCGives, an initiative for inclusive philanthropy that celebrates communities and young people, especially those of color and who are underrepresented. Chavis is also the founder of the RedTailed Hawk Collective. Chavis joined Friends of the Earth as a senior fossil fuel activist, where she led the campaign against the Atlantic Coast Pipeline during the Trump Administration. She is now the Climate & Energy Justice Program Manager for Friends of the Earth US.

Chavis has also contributed to several boards of directors, including the Fund for Southern Communities, the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, the Humane Society of Robeson County, the NC Center for Nonprofits, the Changemakers Fund, and Planned Parenthood of Central North Carolina. Chavis is on the leadership team of NC Climate Justice Collective, overseeing programs and organizational development.