About the Founder
Stacey C. Williams, Ph.D.
Founder & Chief Strategist
Dr. Stacey C. Williams is an esteemed public health professional, academic, and researcher whose career has been marked by significant contributions to several fields including evidence-based practice, public health, education, child welfare, policing, and the social determinants of health inequities.
Her early career included positions as a counselor at a group home for adolescent girls and conducting door-to-door data recruitment and collection for a national survey. She also worked as a research assistant for multiple departments at the UNC Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. These roles provided her with hands-on experience providing direct services for children and families and a wide range of entry-level research activities, setting the stage for her future endeavors.
Driven by a passion for child and adolescent health, Dr. Williams pursued a Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) at the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Public Health. Her time as a Graduate Research Assistant at the UNC Center on Health Disparities during her M.P.H. program equipped her with the skills and knowledge necessary to address complex public health issues, particularly those affecting vulnerable populations.
Her role as a Public Health Research Analyst at RTI International from 2009 to 2012 was particularly noteworthy. At RTI, Dr. Williams contributed to several high-profile projects, including systematic reviews on the effectiveness of trauma-focused interventions for children and of pharmaceutical and non-pharmaceutical treatments for depression in adults.
In 2017, Dr. Williams achieved a significant milestone by earning her Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) in Mental Health from the Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health. Her doctoral research delved into the intricacies of adverse childhood experiences, neighborhood conditions, and the child welfare system as a provider for children with significant mental health needs. Following her Ph.D., she further specialized in public health services through an NIH-funded postdoctoral fellowship completed at Johns Hopkins in 2018.
In 2019, Dr. Williams joined Forward Cities, where she held several key positions. She led numerous research initiatives aimed at increasing equitable access to business ownership and led the development of a suite of assessment tools for entrepreneurial ecosystem assessment. Her work at Forward Cities reflects her commitment to using data to foster equitable economic development in communities.
Throughout her academic career, Dr. Williams has received numerous recognitions and accolades. Among the most notable, Dr. Williams received the prestigious C. Sylvia and Eddie C. Brown Community Health Scholarship for her doctoral studies at Johns Hopkins and was named an Emerging Scholar by the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children. As a leader, educator, and researcher, Dr. Williams prioritizes research that can be applied immediately by local stakeholders who aim to improve the well-being of their communities.
Areas of Expertise
Child & Adolescent Health
Social and emotional development, child abuse and neglect, trauma-informed care
Community Mental Health
Population-based mental health and substance abuse, social processes, life expectancies
Economic Inequities
Access to income, wealth, and business ownership
Public Service Systems
Child welfare, policing, public health, and cross-sector collaboration for collective impact
Public Health Geography
Variation in opportunities, experiences, and health outcomes by place
Public Education
Preschool programs, academic achievement, and school-based interventions
