Dr. Damon A. Williams

Chief Catalyst, Center for Strategic Diversity Leadership & Social Innovation

Dr. Damon A. Williams is a visionary and inspirational leader, and one of the nation’s recognized experts in strategic diversity leadership, youth development, corporate responsibility, and organizational change.

For four years, he led a $250M social impact portfolio for the world’s largest youth development company, the Boys & Girls Clubs of America, representing the interests of nearly 4M diverse youth
and teens as Senior Vice President for Programs and Chief Education Officer.

One of the original architects of the Inclusive Excellence concept in
American higher education, he is author of the best-selling Strategic Diversity Leadership and co-author the Chief Diversity Officer, he is a global thought leader having worked with more than 1,000 colleges and universities, Fortune 100 companies, government agencies, as keynote speaker, strategist, consultant, and leader.

As the University of Michigan celebrated her 200-year anniversary, he was awarded the Bicentennial Leadership Award, a one-time honor given to 20 trailblazing alumni, who exemplify the best of the
academic and leadership values of the Universities 200,000 living alumni. He was a founding member of the Journal of Diversity Officers in Higher Education, and a member of the boards of the National Diversity Council (NDC), and Insight into Diversity, for five years respectively. While a board member for Insight, he reimagined their Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) award, transforming the academies premiere strategic DEI leadership recognition program instrumentation.

He is currently chief catalyst for the Center for Strategic Diversity Leadership & Social Innovation and a Senior Scholar and Innovation Fellow at the Wisconsin Equity, and Inclusion (Wei) Laboratory of the
University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he previously served as Associate Vice Chancellor and inaugural Chief Diversity, Equity, and Educational Achievement Officer.

Some notables featuring Dr. Williams include the American Airlines, Clemson University, Brooklyn Nets, Community Health Network, BMO Financial Services, Syracuse University , Goldman Sachs, WKKF, US Airforce, Ohio State University, Ohio Health, Wella Beauty, P & G, Airforce Institute of Technology, UC Berkeley, Carnegie Melon, Teach for America, Harvard University, and hundreds of others.

Dr. Williams received his PhD from the University of Michigan Center for the Study of Higher and Post- Secondary Education (CSHPE) in Organizational Behavior and Management, and his MS and BS degrees from Miami University in Educational Leadership, Sociology, and Black World Studies, respectively.