Steven Williams, Ph.D., SPHR

Steve Williams joined the FRI Board of Directors in 2009. He served as a member of the Institutional Review Board at FRI for six years prior to serving on the FRI Board of Directors.

Dr. Williams has more than fifteen years in the nonprofit industry working for several nonprofits at the senior management level. He is currently employed at the Executive Leadership Council where he serves on their Leadership Team and oversees products, services, and networking for Fortune 500 CEOs, senior executives, corporate board members as well as mid-level executives and entrepreneurs. In particular, he is responsible for developing the company’s global leadership development assets for senior executives in Fortune 500 companies such as Apple, Target, PepsiCo, Exxon Mobil, Lowe’s, Boeing, American Express, and Morgan Stanley.

Previously Dr. Williams was employed at the Society for Human Resource Management—the world’s largest association of HR executives with more than 275,000 members globally and a budget size of $130 million—where he served as the Director of E-Media Innovations and Business Development. Similar to his current role, at SHRM he had significant P&L responsibility and was responsible for implementing new, innovative, and profitable business ventures.

Dr. Williams is also well versed in identifying trends in and solutions to complex workplace/HR issues. He has written several reports and articles on association/nonprofit management, and has provided his expertise in areas such as best company and human resource practices, employer branding, compensation and benefits, leadership development, and other workplace and organizational issues. He has been tapped by organizations to serve as a spokesperson on various business practices, and has appeared in several media outlets such as the Wall Street Journal, the Associated Press, theWashington Post, the New York Times, and several television news stations. He has spent numerous years directly working with and conducting strategic workshops for business leaders such as CEOs, CFOs, HR executives, and has provided his expertise to U.S. government agencies such as the Department of Labor, EEOC, and Government Accounting Office. Most of his work has been domestically focused but he has also worked globally, including a short-term assignment in India.

Dr. Williams previously worked as a consultant for Johns Hopkins School of Medicine for four years. He currently serves on the Advisory Board of Instructional Design and Technology Program at George Mason University. He is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources.