Ovita F. Williams, PhD

Dr. Ovita Williams is Executive Director of the Action Lab for Social Justice and Lecturer in Discipline at Columbia School of Social Work. Dr. Williams worked with survivors of intimate partner violence in the forensic social work arena with ten years of experience in the Counseling Services Unit at the Kings County District Attorney’s Office. Prior to this position, Dr. Williams was a child and family therapist at the Children’s Aid Society. She is currently involved in racial equity facilitation and is committed to social justice and ending gender-based violence.

Dr. Williams has developed and facilitated interactive workshops for social workers, managers, and various practitioners on facilitating courageous dialogues around our intersecting identities. At Columbia, Dr. Williams collaborates with students, alumni, faculty, and administrators on the development of the course Decolonizing Social Work through a power, race, oppression, privilege (PROP) framework. The course centers on undoing anti-Black racism and dismantling white supremacy culture.

Dr. Williams is co-author of Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn: A guide for social work field education, 3rd Edition (2019) published by the Council on Social Work Education. Additional publications by Dr. Williams cover narratives on racism, racial equity facilitation, and discussions on privilege.

A graduate of Vassar College (’90) and Columbia University (’93), Dr. Williams received her doctorate from the City University of New York Graduate Center, Silberman School of Social Welfare in New York City. She was born in Guyana, South America and calls Brooklyn, New York home.

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