James Isaac Jones
Mariah Williams has the chance to better the lives of students and community members every day. And the Mississippi native wouldn’t have it any other way—nor would her family.
“My parents were critically influential in the development of my ideas around hard work, justice, and faith,” she says.
“When my dad was a freshman at the University of Mississippi—the same university I graduated from 40 years later—he was involved in protests that actually led to his arrest and expulsion. He later earned a doctorate and worked at the university for over 25 years. Meanwhile, my mom was an ordained minister and taught us Bible stories for fun. So, justice and faith were at the core of my upbringing and certainly guided my desire to do work that improves people’s lives and guarantees their well-being in this country and in the world.”
Williams went on to secure a law degree but wasn’t sure what to do with it. After taking a series of temporary legal positions, she landed in higher education, and hasn’t looked back.
“I get to think about how our organizational and public policies influence health outcomes and how we can be more intentional about ensuring health equity for vulnerable populations,” she says of her position at Meharry.
It’s a gig that is perfectly suited for her sensibilities. “I love that I get to think critically about how policy influences health outcomes. I get to challenge the status quo and imagine what health care would look like if we truly valued every person’s well-being. I love to reimagine the ways our educational, housing, criminal justice, and health care systems could be designed to integrate to improve people’s lives,” she says. “I’ll always find ways to be involved with justice, which is guided by my faith.”
CHALLENGED BY CHANGE
My biggest challenges have been during times of transition. When I graduated from college, I hadn’t been accepted to a law school that I was interested in attending and had to do quite a bit of maneuvering to land where I wanted to be. I also did not land a job after graduating from law school and honestly wasn’t excited about practicing law. Again, I had to do quite a bit of maneuvering to land on my feet. Those were very hard times and required me to develop some grit, to advocate for myself, and to lean on my faith. It also required me to develop a vision for what I wanted that was not based on the expectations of others. I would encourage all young women to be open to opportunities that they may have never considered. There is so much freedom when you know you can always pivot, always do something different than the norm, and create the career and the life you want.
WORK/LIFE BALANCE
To me, success means spending more time doing things that I enjoy than time doing things I don’t enjoy while adding meaningfully to the world. Life is full of responsibility and lots of pressure, so if I’m able to do work that I enjoy while also managing the responsibility of providing for myself and my family, I consider myself successful. The minute I feel that I’m sacrificing too much of myself or that I’m not doing things that add value to people’s lives, I have to take a step back and re-think what matters. To be successful is to be in alignment with my values. spend time outside of work involved in civic engagement organizations and activities. I serve on the board of Preston Taylor Ministries, a faith-based youth service organization. I am also the board chair for The Equity Alliance, an organization dedicated to building black political power. I’m involved with several other community organizations as well and enjoy spending time thinking about ways to improve the lives of those who have historically been marginalized and disenfranchised. I also enjoy spending time with my husband and bonus daughter. We like to go on bike rides, have game nights, and catch up on all the good Netflix shows.