Frederica Williams
Frederica M. Williams, MBA, FCIS has served as the president and chief executive officer of Whittier Street Health Center in Boston, Massachusetts since 2002.[1]
Biography
[edit]Frederica Williams was born in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Her family belong to the Creole ethnic group in Sierra Leone.
Williams attended the London School of Accountancy, passed the examinations of the Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators, United Kingdom, and was elected fellow of the institute. She obtained a graduate certificate in administration and management from Harvard Extension School. And a Master in Business Administration with a concentration in finance from Anna Maria College in Paxton, Massachusetts. She also passed the exams of the Institute of Administrative Management (UK) with distinction and has participated in several executive education programs at the Harvard Business School.[2]
She moved from London to Boston in 1984 and worked at various hospitals until joining Whittier Street Health Center in February 2002 as its president and chief executive officer. Since Williams began at Whittier, the number of people served increased from 5,000 to 25,000 in 2012,[3] and was close to 30,000 in 2018.
In 2018, Williams was honored by the WSHC Board of Directors who named the building "Frederica M. Williams Building".[4] On December 6, 2019, the Patriot Vanguard of Sierra Leone recognized Williams for her life mission, business and social justice leadership.[5]
On November 24, 2020, Harvard Extension School named Williams the recipient of its 2020 Dean Michael Shinagel Award for Service to Others, presented by the Harvard Extension Alumni Association. Barbara O'Reilly, director of the Alumni Awards, said: "Frederica Williams embodies exceptional leadership advancing social change in addressing health and economic disparities and social justice in the Greater Boston community."[citation needed]
On February 20, 2021, Williams launched scholarship funds to educate young children in Freetown, Sierra Leone.[6]
In December 2020, Williams was recognized for her efforts in addressing social justice and health equity, especially in times of crises during the COVID-19 pandemic. Under her leadership, Whittier Street Health Center expanded its range of services to include Mobile Health Services to remove barriers to care such as transportation, location, access and hours of work for essential workers. Whittier manages four Mobile Health Units that provides services including Boston Public School-Based clinics, medication delivery, dental hygiene services, health screenings, primary care, behavioral health screenings, vision screenings, linkage and HIV Counseling and Testing.[7]
On June 21, 2021, she led the 21st Annual Men's Health Summit to highlight the high mortality rates of men, especially men of color. The theme "Men Take Action on Holistic Health and COVID-19: Physical, Mental & Economic Wellbeing," was chosen not only to highlight the far reaching effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to educate people about the importance holistic health plays in everyday life.[8]
In April 2020, former Mayor Marty Walsh appointed a group of BIPOC leaders to join the COVID-19 Health Inequities Task Force. Williams was one of the leaders tasked with developing strategies to address racism as a public health issue and recommendations to promote health equity and social justice. In July 2021, the Boston Health Inequities Task Force released the Boston Health Equity Now Plan, an initial step towards the long-term recovery from COVID-19.[9]
In March 2021, Williams headed the public health sub-committee of the project guiding Kim Janey's then-expected transition into the position of acting mayor of Boston.[10]
On May 24, 2022, Williams was named the recipient of the 2022 Dean Michael Shinagel Award for Service to Others from the Harvard Extension Alumni Association.[11]
Williams was named the recipient of the 2023 Joan Wallace Leadership Award.[12]
For National Black Business Month (August 2023), the Boston Globe highlighted Black leaders in Boston, including Williams.[13]
In May 2026, Williams appeared on WCVB's CityLine, where she discussed health disparities in Roxbury, Whittier Street Health Center's efforts to address them, and the center's 2026 Men's Health Summit.[14][15]
In August 2026, WBUR reported that Whittier Street Health Center's mobile health vans served an average of 1,000 patients annually; Williams said the initiative brought healthcare services to neighborhoods, schools, and public housing developments.[16]
Awards and citations
[edit]- 2023: The Joan Wallace Leadership Award[12]
- 2023: The Black Women Lead Honorary Committee, Top 200 Black Women Leaders[17]
- 2020: Harvard Extension School, Dean Michael Shinagel Award for Service to Others.[18]
- 2019: The Boston Globe Magazine and The Commonwealth Institute, Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts Award.[19]
- 2017: The Boston Globe Magazine and The Commonwealth Institute, Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts Award
- 2016: The Boston Business Journal: Power 50 List: Game-Changers
- 2015: The Boston Business Journal: Power 50 List,
- 2015: The Boston Business Journal, Transformations: Meet the Men and Women Reshaping Views and Impressions of Greater Boston's Real Estate Landscape,
- 2015: Globe Magazine Awards Whittier Top Women Led Businesses in MA Archived 13 February 2013 at the Wayback Machine
- 2014: The Boston Globe Magazine and The Commonwealth Institute, Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts Award Archived 24 August 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- 2013: Men's Health Award Massachusetts Medical Society
- 2013: Commonwealth Compact, Diversity Stand-Out Award Archived 6 April 2023 at the Wayback Machine
- 2013: National Black MBA Association, Nonprofit Diversity Trailblazer
- 2013: Volunteers of America, Susan Wornick and Myrna Billian Community Leadership Award
- 2012: White House Communications Agency for exceptional community service
- 2011: The Network Journal, 25 Influential Black Women in Business
- 2011: Pinnacle Award by the Women’s Network of the Boston Chamber of Commerce Archived 4 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- 2011: Bill and Kerry Brett. Boston, Inspirational Women
- 2010: Community Leadership Award from the Mayor’s Office of New Bostonians Archived 2 November 2014 at the Wayback Machine
- 2010: Boston Business Journal, Health Champion Award for Community Outreach
- 2010: Massachusetts League of Community Health Center's Outstanding Massachusetts Health Center Executive Director Award
- 2009: The WMJX-106.7FM's Exceptional Women in Healthcare Award
- 2009: Profiles in Diversity Journal, Women Worth Watching
- 2008: Women Business Magazine, Top 10 Heroes Award
- 2008: University of Massachusetts-Boston, Robert H. Quinn Award for Community Leadership
Memberships
[edit]Williams is a trustee of Eversource Energy (formerly Northeast Utilities), New England's largest energy provider in Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire. She is also a member of the board of trustees for Dana–Farber Cancer Institute, the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers, Boston HealthNet, Women Business Leaders in Health Care, the Massachusetts Women's Forum, and the International Women's Forum.[20]
References
[edit]- ↑ https://www.wshc.org/assets/Frederica-M.-Williams-biography-2023.pdf Biography
- ↑ "25 Influential Black Women in Business Class of 2011". Archived from the original on 19 August 2014. Retrieved 20 June 2014.
- ↑ Howard Manly. “Second to None,” Exhale Archived 3 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine
- ↑ "Whittier Street Health Center Marks 17-Year Anniversary of President and CEO Frederica Williams". finance.yahoo.com. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ↑ "Sierra Leonean-born Frederica Williams scores big in America". The Patriotic Vanguard. 6 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ↑ "Freetown: Williams family launches scholarship fund". 20 February 2021.
- ↑ Webb, Leonard (8 February 2021). "Strong, Determined & Committed to the Community! MS Frederica M. Williams!". Ethnic Online. Archived from the original on 28 June 2021. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ↑ Lyons, Jack (26 June 2021). "'Men's Health Summit' emphasizes importance of community health centers". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 28 June 2021.
- ↑ "COVID Recovery Task Force Calls for Boston to Increase Racism Awareness, Invest in Youth". NBC Boston. 12 July 2021. Retrieved 15 July 2021.
- ↑ "Kim Janey Announces Chairs of Mayoral Transition Sub-Committees – Beacon Hill Times". Beacon Hill Times. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 23 September 2021.
- ↑ "Whittier Street Health Center President Frederica Williams Receives Dean Shinagel Award From Harvard Extension Alumni Association". GlobeNewswire News Room (Press release). 8 June 2022. Retrieved 25 June 2022.
- 1 2 "Whittier Street's Williams wins Joan Wallace Leadership Award | Dorchester Reporter". www.dotnews.com. Retrieved 20 June 2023.
- ↑ christine.lavosky (24 July 2023). "Black Business Leaders". Sponsored. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
- ↑ "CityLine: Reimagining healthy communities". WCVB. 31 May 2026. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ "CityLine: Whittier Street Health Center". YouTube. WCVB Channel 5 Boston. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ Vu, Kevin (4 August 2026). "'We are not Superman': How Boston is pushing to improve men's health". WBUR. Retrieved 5 August 2026.
- ↑ Parker, Kevin (16 May 2023). "Whittier Street CEO Frederica Williams Honored During Black Women Lead Event at State House". citybiz. Retrieved 16 May 2023.
- ↑ Bakken, Rebecca (24 November 2020). "Four recognized for service and leadership". Harvard Gazette. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
- ↑ "The 2019 Top 100 Women-Led Businesses in Massachusetts - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 20 November 2019.
- ↑ Bloomberg Businessweek Executive Profile