William is a results-driven stakeholder engagement, government and community relations leader with experience in the Executive Office of the President (The White House), Local Government, Higher Education, the non-profit sector, and small business ownership. He is a White House Fellow, public servant, licensed attorney, and entrepreneur. From 2020 until 2023, he served as President of the Gary City Council. He is a member of the Illinois Bar.Previously, he has served as a Commissioner on the Gary Port Authority, Board President of the South Shore Chamber of Commerce in Chicago, External Affairs Director for Communities In Schools of Chicago, One Chance Illinois, and GEMS World-Academy Chicago. He also served as the Associate Vice-Chancellor of Workforce & Economic Development at the City Colleges of Chicago’s district office, managing workforce partnerships. A native of Jackson, Tennessee, William is an alum of Georgetown University, graduating magna cum laude with a B.A. in Sociology. He received the Department’s Hoggson Award for Excellence in Sociology. At Georgetown, he was elected a Harry S. Truman Scholar, was selected as both a John Carroll and Patrick Healy Fellow, and spent his junior year abroad at The London School of Economics. He continued his education at The University of Chicago Law School, graduating in 2010. In May 2015, William obtained a Master of Arts in Religious Studies from The Chicago Theological Seminary, with a concentration in the intersection of religion, law, and politics. In 2011, he wrote a book entitled, Blue America’s God: Reflections on Faith and the Future of Progressive Politics.