Dr. Christopher Williams

“My work reflects my moral convictions for justice and equity arising from my Southern religious upbringing, social justice commitment within the historical context of African American collective striving and liberation, and precipitated by an urgent need for transformative praxis to uplift all peoples to achieve ideal health and human development.”

Christopher Williams, PhD (Public Health) has a unique combination of academic rigor, community engagement, and interdisciplinary work across structural determinants of health positions him as a strong candidate for a leadership role that can drive systemic change and advance health equity. Dr. Williams synthesizes his specialized knowledge of the public health economy to spur innovation in public health theory-building and practice, which has high potential for major funding given curricular and disciplinary implications. He has taught in academic and non-academic settings, as well as guest-lectured at local universities in Washington, DC. His Public Health Liberation theory is garnering national attention as a potential breakthrough on issues of persistent health inequity by focusing on synergisms, liberation, and interdependencies. He had a ten-year career in medical education research and administration that included national conference lectures, physician recruitment, program evaluation, and policy development.

His research and editorials have appeared in the American Journal of Medicine, Washington Post, Journal of Graduate Medical Education, Academic Medicine, and Advances in Clinical Medical Research and Healthcare Delivery, where his novel transdisciplinary theory of the public health economy is published. His dissertation study, The Critical Race Framework Study: Standardizing Critical Evaluation for Research Studies That Use Racial Taxonomy, filled a major gap in the literature on critical appraisal for public health research. Dr. Williams has extensive experience in the full life cycle of research from conducting systematic reviews, data collection, developing application packages, stakeholder engagement, data analysis, psychometric testing, and presentation. His latest community-based research contributed to the literature on the mental health impact of neighborhood change. Dr. Williams is devoted to his profession as demonstrated by his role as a journal reviewer, community liaison for research and policy, policy analyst, and internship director.

Dr. Williams’ interdisciplinary knowledge of sectoral influences on health including housing, economics, regulation, community relations, law, and legislative relations is a major strength. He has considerable hospital- and community-based instruction and research, arising from program management roles starting in 2007. He has secured grant funding for community-based opioid education and Narcan training and for establishing a health coalition among women leaders in public housing, in addition to managing a national grant program. He is also a creative arts freelancer, having received public funding for exhibition. The Smithsonian Institution Anacostia Community Museum featured his photography on environmental advocacy in Washington, DC. He has collaborated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (Region 3) on cumulative impact, the Urban Institute, and the DC Healthy Housing Coalition. He serves as the President of his tenant association and is actively engaged in addressing issues like housing justice, environmental health, and political accountability in Washington, DC