Dr. Lisa Williams
Vice President of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
Dr. Lisa Williams is a national expert on topics of equity and access in public education. Her most recent position was Chief Equity Officer for the Fairfax County Schools. In that role, she provided leadership and oversight of efforts to support the division’s commitment to centering equitable access and developing an anti-racist organizational culture. She has provided guidance for school boards, public and private schools as well as school systems and non-profits in the areas of racial equity, gender equity in STEM, leading for equity, school transformation, and culturally responsive practices. Dr. Williams has served as a Subject Matter Expert with the United States Department of Education Department of Career, Technical, and Adult Education division related to equitable access in STEM/CTE. She serves as a board member for Restorative Response Baltimore, an organization that provides guidance and support for Restorative Practices and Community Conferences to decrease violence and create inclusive environments across the Baltimore Metropolitan Area.
Dr. Williams served as Executive Director of Equity and Cultural Proficiency for the Baltimore County Public School System for over 10 years. She has held the position of teacher, mentor, university professor, and Title I director over her career in education. She has bachelors’ degrees in biology and psychology, an MA in psychology, and a doctorate in Urban Educational Leadership with an emphasis in social policy. She has presented at the local, state, national and international level on topics related to improving outcomes for marginalized student populations. Her most recent talk, “We Don’t Make History, We Are Made by History: The Need to Remake Public Education” provided in September 2021 for teachers attending the University of Cologne. Her career in public education spans nearly 20 years. Her dissertation study examined Response to Intervention (RtI) and the performance of students attending Title I schools.
Under her direction and leadership organizations that partner with Dr. Williams engage in deep dive transformative efforts that are both 21st century responsive and emblematic of efforts to dismantle systems of oppression that limit opportunity. In addition to providing training and support, she partnered with colleagues to create two certificate programs in educational equity and cultural proficiency with McDaniel College and Notre Dame University.
She is co-author of two books, When Treating all the Kids the Same is the Real Problem: Educational Leadership and the 21st Century Dilemma of Difference and Humanity Over Comfort: How You Confront Systemic Racism Head On both published by Corwin Press. She is presently collaborating with teacher leaders in Cologne, Germany to publish an article on Social Justice in Education. Dr. Williams is the proud mom of a son, Andrew, who is the daily inspiration for her work for all children.
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