Jessica Williams *15 MOL
Visionary, Strategic, Resilient
Senior Strategy Advisor, National Institute for Student Success
Jessica Williams is senior adviser of strategic initiatives and external relations at Georgia State University’s National Institute for Student Success. In this role, she oversees service delivery to colleges and universities nationwide and advances the development of innovative solutions to improve student outcomes. She leads a team of advisers who partner with institutional leaders to remove barriers to student success and strengthen retention and graduation rates. Rowland Williams previously directed Every Learner Everywhere, a national network focused on advancing equity in higher education through digital learning. Earlier in her career, she led the University Innovation Alliance’s Completion Grant Initiative, helping universities increase persistence and degree completion for first-generation and low-income students. A proud graduate of Spelman College, she earned her Ph.D. in molecular biology from Princeton, where she also served as a diversity fellow. She brings to her work both a scholar’s rigor and a practitioner’s commitment to equity, innovation and opportunity in higher education.