An educator by training, a teacher by temperament, a writer by passion, Lea E. Williams currently serve as the associate vice chancellor of academic affairs at North Carolina A&T State University.  She is the former executive director of the National African-American Women’s Leadership Institute, Inc. (NAAWLI), a leadership program for women committed to community service. 

After completing her doctorate in higher education administration, Williams began her career in higher education at the United Negro College Fund headquarters in New York City.  She concluded her

eleven-year tenure as the vice president of educational services.  Williams taught sixth grade in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and continued teaching as an adjunct instructor of English at the College of New Rochelle’s School of New Resources-South Bronx campus and the City College of New York.  She has taught women’s studies courses at Bennett College and the University of North Carolina, Greensboro. 

In 1996, Williams authored Servants of the People:  The 1960s Legacy of African American Leadership.  Published by St. Martin’s Press, Servants of the People profiles six leaders who were prominent during the civil rights movement.  A revised edition with profiles on Ella Baker and Septima Clark is due out in January 2009.  Williams has served as a scholar in residence and speaker at numerous colleges and universities.  Presentations at national conferences and outside U.S. borders, including the International Conference on Servant-Leadership, sponsored by the Greenleaf Center for Servant-Leadership (1997, 1998, 1999), and the International Leadership Association Annual Meeting.  Among dozens of articles written on education issues, "Missing, Presumed Lost: Teachers of Color in the Nation's Classrooms," published in Black Collegian, won the 1989 Unity Award in Media for education reporting.

Her volunteer involvement reflects Williams’ commitment to community service.  Currently, she serves on the board of the Greensboro Historical Museum and the Community Foundation of Greater Greensboro.  Previously, she served on the board of the YWCA of Greensboro. 

Awards and honors include the Woman of Achievement Award in Education of the Greensboro Commission on the Status of Women, the Hilda A. Davis Award for Educational Leadership of the National Association for Women in Education, the Paducah Black Historian Achievement Award in Education, and the Kentucky State University Distinguished Service Award. 

Dr. Williams has degrees from Columbia University (M.S., Ed.D.), the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee (M.A.) and Kentucky State University (B.A.).  She has participated in programs at the Gallup Leadership Institute and the Center for Creative Leadership.