Speakers

Oliver J. Williams, Ph.D.
Executive Director

Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community; Professor, School of Social Work, University of Minnesota

 

Dr. Williams is the Executive Director of the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community, and a Professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota, in St. Paul. He is also the Director of the Safe Return Initiative that addresses the issues of prisoner reentry and domestic violence. He has worked in the field of domestic violence for more than twenty-nine years. Dr. Williams has worked in battered women's shelters, developed curricula for batterers' intervention programs and facilitated counseling groups in these programs. He has provided training across the United States and abroad on research and service-delivery surrounding partner abuse. Dr. Williams' extensive research and publications in scholarly journals and books have centered on creating service delivery strategies to reduce violent behavior. Dr. Williams received a bachelor's degree in social work from Michigan State University ; a Masters in Social Work from Western Michigan University ; a Masters in Public Health and a PH.D in Social Work both from the University of Pittsburgh.