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Although most of his work
these days is centered in the nation’s capital, the
oft-traveled Dr. Williams home is very much in the Toledo
area with his wife Patrice and three daughters and his
“great friends in the community.” He and family moved here
about nine years ago when he accepted a position with the
University of Toledo Medical Center to head the Division of
Trauma, Critical Care and Acute Care Surgery.
Dr. Williams is a native
of Chicago but, at an early age, moved with his mother to
East St. Louis, then back to Chicago and, finally, while
still in his early, quite formative years, to Fort Meade, MD
so that his mother could find the employment which had been
difficult to find in Chicago.
Settling in one of the
bedroom communities of the Fort Meade area, Dr. Williams
encountered one of his first mentors, Cleveland Chandler,
PhD, who became “a benefactor of the family.” Chandler, a
professor of economics and chairman of the Economics
Department at Howard University, was the first in a long
line of mentors and influential friends who have helped
shape his life.
Chandler influenced the
young student to head to Morehouse College for an
undergraduate degree. At Morehouse he served as a Ford
Foundation Fellow and National Institutes of Health Research
Fellow. After college he entered the University of Maryland
School of Medicine and then trained in general surgery at
Wayne State University/Detroit Medical Center.
Then began a career
focused on relieving the pain of trauma along with promoting
the education of future health care professionals. That was
also the start of a life during which Dr. Williams has been
engaged in issues of social justice that affect
disadvantaged communities around the world.
As a combat veteran, Lt.
Colonel Dr. Williams served his country in Operation Iraqi
Freedom as a combat surgeon and Chief of Surgery of the
United States Army’s 345th combat support
hospital and, later, in Afghanistan, as co-commander of the
1st Forward Surgical Team during Operation
Freedom’s Sentinel.
As a teacher, he has been
awarded the teacher of the year award by both the residents
and medical students at the University of Toledo College of
Medicine and his research efforts have been recognized by a
number of surgical societies including the Detroit Surgical
Association, the Eastern Association for the Surgery of
Trauma and the New England Surgical Society.
As a writer, Dr. Williams
has authored over 30 peer-reviewed manuscripts, textbook
chapters and commentaries and has also examined issues of
critical importance to minority communities. He is the
co-author of a National Medical Association position paper
titled “The Violence Epidemic in the African American
Community: A Call for Comprehensive Reform;” the co-author
of a manuscript titled “Reducing the impact of violence on
the health status of African-Americans: Literature review
and recommendations from the Society of Black Academic
Surgeons;” and the co-author of a manuscript titled:
“Patters of Law Enforcement Related Injuries in the United
States.”
As a reader, Dr. Williams’
curiosity is boundless. His mother was an English teacher,
primarily at various Baltimore-area colleges, such as Coppin
State. He mentions with evident fondness his excursions
through the writings of classical authors, such as Charles
Dickens, Mark Twain, Herman Melville, and those of the
modern classicists such as Richard Wright and Toni Morrison.
“I am mesmerized by
Ishmael’s transformation,” he notes of the hero of his
favorite novel, Moby Dick. “Melville is doing
something on a level I haven’t seen any other author do.”
As a leading member of the
community, Dr. Williams is the president of the Reede
Scholars, a nonprofit organization committed to a healthcare
policy that produces equity, quality and access for
disadvantaged groups. He is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha
Fraternity, the Prince Hall Masonic Order and is the current
president of the local Alpha Phi Boule.
There is perhaps nothing
more significant in the life of Dr. Williams, however, than
his commitment to the development of a health care policy
that positively impacts the lives of those in the minority
population. His research interests, according to one
biography, “include better understanding health care
delivery in safety net hospitals and improving communication
and team dynamics in high stress health care delivery areas
such as the trauma care unit, intensive care unit and
operating room.”
“I try to do what I can to
bring a great experience to the community,” he says.
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