Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

May 4, 2025
+79
°
F

Living Legend: Stephen L. Williams

Government administrator Stephen L. Williams was born on June 10, 1956, in Waycross, Georgia to Loretta Williams and Rosebud Smith, Sr. Williams graduated from Waycross High School in 1974, and earned his B.A. degree in sociology and social work from Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama in 1977. He went on to receive his M.Ed. degree from Auburn University at Montgomery, and his M.P.A. degree from Baruch College, City University of New York, through the National Urban Fellowship program.

Beginning in 1995, Williams served as an administrator of public health and deputy director of Travis County’s Health and Human Services and Veteran Service Department in Austin, Texas. He became the director of public health for the Houston Department of Health and Human Services in 2004. Under his administration, the department launched community outreach programs such as Project Saving Smiles, which provided oral screenings to elementary school students; See to Succeed, which partnered with private organizations to provide children with eye exams and glasses; and Assessment, Intervention, and Mobilization (AIM), a door-to-door responsive services program. In 2006, Williams initiated the Hip Hop for HIV Awareness intervention project. He also collaborated with Enroll Gulf Coast to consult Houstonians on accessing health insurance through the Affordable Care Act of 2010. Williams also served as an adjunct professor for the University Of Texas School of Public Health.

Williams served on numerous boards and organizations. He was chairman of the Texas Department of State Health Services Public Funding and Policy Committee, the Coalition of the Homeless of Houston/Harris County and the Harris County System of Hope. He served on the National Commission on Prevention Priorities, the Texas A&M School of Rural Public Health External Advisory Board, the Texas Agri-Life Extension Services Urban Advisory Board, and the Harris County Healthcare Alliance Board. Williams was a member of the National Association of City and County Health Officials, American Public Health Association, Rotary Club of Houston, and the National Forum for Black Public Administrators. Williams also served as president of the Texas Association of Local Health Officials.

Source: historymakers.org
Photo credit: sph.tamhsc.edu

Latest Articles

NEED PAST ISSUES?

Search our archive of past issues Receive our Latest Updates
 
* indicates required
Search