Roy Williams

Roy Williams joined the Foundation in September 2010.   Born in Los Angeles and raised in Memphis, Roy moved to his parents’ hometown, New Orleans, to attend Tulane University where he earned a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and a minor in African and Diaspora Studies.   Prior to joining the Foundation, Roy worked in the Mayor’s Office of Intergovernmental Relations at the City of New Orleans working on a variety of issues at the federal and state levels. During his time with the City, Roy became interested in the work local nonprofits were doing for the revitalization of New Orleans. He brings experience in grantmaking and in identifying federal and state resources and partnerships.

During his time at the Foundation, Roy has overseen the streamlining of grantmaking programs as well as the Foundation’s transition to an online grantmaking platform. Roy has held numerous leadership roles with PEAK Grantmaking as a member of their conference planning committee and as Co-Chair of the network’s 2017 conference. He currently serves on the steering committee for the Youth Transition Funders Group, a national network of grantmakers whose mission is to help all youth make a successful transition to adulthood by the age of 25.

As Director of Grantmaking, Roy’s grantmaking focuses on Education, Health, and Youth Development as well as a number of geographically specific Funds including Norco, Algiers, and St. Bernard.