Staff

Janelle Williams serves as a principal adviser on the Atlanta Fed's Community and Economic Development team. In this role, Williams cultivates and expands partnerships to foster cross-sector collaborations to promote economic mobility across the Sixth District. She brings deep expertise in inclusive development, small business, racial equity, performance management strategies, and research.

Williams is leading several efforts to create more inclusive economies, including the Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative, a diverse partnership of stakeholders seeking to grow Black entrepreneurship and close the racial wealth gap. Prior to joining the Atlanta Fed, she led economic opportunity initiatives for the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Atlanta Civic Site. She was lead author of the foundation's Changing the Odds: The Race for Results in Atlanta report and editor of the Partnership for Southern Equity’s Growing the Future: The Case for Economic Inclusion in Atlanta. Her worked has served as a national model to other grant makers looking to operationalize racial equity (As the South Grows Bearing Fruit). She recently coauthored the Small Businesses of Color Recovery Guide and Navigating a Crisis: An Uneven Recovery for Communities and Organizations in the Southeast.

Williams has extensive research experience in an array of socioeconomic and international issues. Previously, she led efforts to incorporate data analysis and evaluation into program design and implementation at the Center for Working Families Inc. She has served as a congressional fellow in the US House of Representatives, conducting policy research on issues tied to education, health, workforce development, and immigration.

Williams holds a doctorate in international family and community studies from Clemson University, a master's degree in public administration from the University of Georgia, and bachelor's degrees in psychology and sociology from Florida Memorial University. She is a fellow for the Association of Black Foundation Executives' Connecting Leaders program and an alumnus of the Atlanta Leaders for Results and LEAD Atlanta programs. Williams is an active community volunteer and currently serves as cofounder and board chair of Atlanta Wealth Building Initiative and board member for Common Future Fund.