Williams has held several leadership roles in both the private and nonprofit sectors. In London, she launched GRM International’s (now Palladium Consulting) new education practice and served as its first director for global education. For the U.S. Agency for International Development, Williams provided policy recommendations and managed country-level activities under President George W. Bush’s US$600 million Africa Education Initiative, as well as a US$200 million investment in 21 bilateral education partnerships. For President Bill Clinton’s Education for Development and Democracy Initiative, Williams managed a portfolio that included projects on information and communications technologies, democracy and governance, and economic development.

Williams began her career at McKinsey & Company, where she was an information associate and researcher covering general practices and the energy sector. Her diverse professional experience includes producing an award-winning documentary series, Readers are Leaders, and working under the tutelage of civil rights leader, Dr. Dorothy I. Height.

Williams is a staunch advocate for women and girls education and empowerment. She serves as Chair of the Board of the Batonga Foundation, founded by Angélique Kidjo in 2006 with the purpose of transforming the most vulnerable adolescent girls in Africa into powerful women.  She also serves as a board member for UNICEF USA, mid-Atlantic. 

Williams has a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University’s Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service and a Master in Public Administration from George Washington University. She is the proud mother of a daughter, Denver.