Angela F. Williams redefines leadership as CEO of United Way Worldwide

Angela F. Williams is one of USA TODAY’s Women of the Year, a recognition of women who have made a significant impact in their communities and across the country. Meet this year's honorees at womenoftheyear.usatoday.com.

ALEXANDRIA, Virginia – Angela F. Williams is frequently reminded of a phrase her father wrote more than half a century ago: “Now is the time to be brave and stand up for your neighbors.”

It’s a sentiment Williams has taken to heart throughout her more than three decades as a lawyer and nonprofit leader – working to redefine what it means to lend a helping hand and lead with your values.

The first Black woman to serve as president and CEO of United Way Worldwide in the charity organization’s 135-year-history, Williams is aiming to scale community-driven solutions and break down systemic barriers to equity, economic mobility and social justice for all. Since 2021, she's stood on the frontlines of the organizations response and recovery efforts to devastating disasters including the Los Angeles wildfires and the hurricanes that ripped through the south in 2024.

Williams credits her father, a Baptist preacher who worked alongside Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as head of the NAACP for South Carolina during the civil rights movement, with instilling in her a drive to serve others. 

"That lesson from 1961 stands true today.” Williams said of his note. 

We as human beings have an obligation to stand up and fight for our neighbors.”

Disaster Relief

Williams’ first taste of nonprofit work came in 2006 when she was invited by former Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton to serve as the inter-faith liaison for their Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery effort.

The fund raised more than $130 million for victims of the storm and awarded upwards of 1,200 grants. Williams led efforts to distribute tens of millions of those dollars to rebuild houses of worship in devastated communities on the Gulf Coast.

Up to that point, she had already led a life dedicated to service – first in the military as a U.S. Air Force Judge Advocate, then as an Assistant U.S. Attorney on the Department of Justice’s National Church Arson Task Force where she wrote a training guide for FBI agents investigating hate crimes.

But no position had brought together her faith, legal experience and passion for standing up for people in her community quite like the work on the Katrina fund, Williams said.

“I literally would take phone calls from people that had been affected by the hurricane, and the amount of grief on the other end of the phone was palpable,” she remembered.

One of those calls was with a woman whose husband had died in his sleep. He was a pastor, and their family had lost their New Orleans church in the flooding days before. The woman didn’t know what to do with her kids, how to rebuild or where to turn. She was searching for a lifeline.

For Williams, the call was a critical lesson in how to be empathetic and resourceful in the face of despair. The experience helped guide her approach to supporting United Way’s 2024 disaster response to Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and then again when fires erupted across Los Angeles in January.

As the October storms ravaged regions in the southeastern United States, Williams said local United Way staff dodged downed power lines and flood water rapids in their communities to bring clothes and boxes of food to people in need.

The organization also organized a television benefit show with Hollywood actors and musicians. Through the concert and other fundraising efforts, it raised roughly $11.2 million to support communities building back from Hurricanes Helene and Milton.

And United Way’s 211 call center in North Carolina, which typically connects people with health and social services, transformed into a missing person reporting network at the request of the state's government. Workers experiencing their own loss and devastation took calls around the clock from people desperately searching for their loved ones. In all, they received roughly 16,000 missing persons calls.

Southern California's 211 network later would leap into action in a similar way, assisting thousands of evacuees from the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Pasadena neighborhoods of Los Angeles find emergency housing, financial aid and community resources as their communities burned to the ground. United Way Worldwide was among the countless organizations funneling disaster relief funding to victims of the disaster.

“To see that we were able to do it, and to still keep smiles on our faces, to still care about each other's wellbeing as we care for the community … that's what I'm proud of,” Williams said. “That's how we demonstrate being a good neighbor.”

Building blocks to systemic change

Throughout her life, Williams has focused on taking small, community-focused actions that, together, help tackle some of society’s most pressing challenges. Her dedication to creating a more equitable world has spanned from personal to professional endeavors.  

Williams for years mentored youth living on the South Side of Chicago who were in her Sunday school classes and who lived in unstable environments. She hosted birthday parties for the children and took them sightseeing and gave them support. It was a way of standing up for her neighbor.

That was my moment to say, what can I do to change the lives of young people that don't stand a chance if I don't intervene?” 

When an opportunity later opened to work as executive vice president and general counsel of the YMCA helping improve the lives of young children like the ones she mentored, Williams jumped at it.

Today, in her work at United Way, Williams empowers small, scrappy teams of people across the world to provide similar support to their communities.

When wildfires tore through the coastal community of Lāhainā on the Hawaiian island of Maui in 2023, the areas local four-person United Way sprung into action, Williams said. They doled out money and supplies and acted as a trusted source of aid for people who were deeply skeptical of the government and private companies.

She saw it as evidence that it “doesn't take hundreds of people,” to make a difference.

In her role as CEO of the nonprofit, Williams is leading the charge in reimagining how small-scale community programs can create systemic change – including by finding ways to bring broadband to rural communities and working to improve access to fresh fruits and vegetables in food deserts.

“When I talk about disrupting systems, I'm talking about making them better so that more people can access them [and] more people can live lives that allow them to thrive,” Williams said of her mission.

The tasks ahead are daunting, but she is as undeterred as ever.

“Mobilizing the caring power of people and serving communities – that is an awesome responsibility,” Williams said.