Speakers
Mr. Elijah J. Williams currently serves as a Senior Advisor in the Office of Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) Headquarters in Washington, D.C., under a Presidential Appointment. His primary responsibilities include developing effective solutions to convey key agency priorities to Members of Congress and their staff. Prior to his appointment, Mr. Williams served as the Legislative Liaison for NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, where his responsibilities included cultivating relationships with elected officials at the federal, state, and local levels of government, in addition to formulating and executing legislative strategies to communicate NASA’s priorities. Before embarking on a career in the government affairs, Mr. Williams served as a Contracting Officer at NASA JSC, responsible for contract analysis and negotiations on two of NASA’s cutting edge programs totaling over $7 billion dollars.
Independent of his career, Mr. Williams believes in building strong communities through service to others. He currently serves as an active mentor at McKinley Tech High School in Washington, D.C., as part of the FIRST Robotics Competition, which inspires students to become leaders in the STEM field. Additionally, as an active member of the National Urban League (NUL) Movement, he currently serves as the National Treasurer for the National Urban League Young Professionals. He is a former member of the Board of Directors of the Houston Area Urban League and a past president of the Houston Area Urban League Young Professionals, where the chapter received various acknowledgments, including the Mayor’s Volunteer Houston award, under his leadership. In addition to his NUL involvement, Mr. Williams and a group of colleagues founded the Houston Black Leadership Institute (HBLI) in December 2012. HBLI is a leadership development program for African-American young professionals, which is focused on succession planning and bridging the gap between past, present, and future leadership in Houston’s community. During Mr. Williams’ time in Houston, he also served on the advisory board for Houston PBS’s Red, White, and Blue Political show and was a volunteer for the United Way of Greater Houston.
Mr. Williams is a recipient of Xavier University of Louisiana’s 40 under 40 Alumni of the Year award and Houston’s Top 30 under 30 award. He is a member of the American Society for Public Administration, Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Incorporated, and a graduate of the NUL’s Emerging Leaders Program, Leadership Huntsville-Madison County, Connect Class 17, and Leadership Houston, Class XXX.
Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Mr. Williams earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration, with a concentration in Management, from Xavier University of Louisiana; later earning a Masters of Public Administration degree, with a concentration in Public Policy, from Texas Southern University’s Barbara Jordan-Mickey Leland School of Public Affairs. He also earned a yearlong certification in Legislative Studies from Georgetown University’s Government Affairs Institute. Mr. Williams is a member of Alfred St. Baptist Church in Alexandria, Virginia; in his spare time, he enjoys traveling, listening to music, playing the drums and various sports, and spending quality time with his fiancé and their two dogs.
One of Mr. Williams’ favorite quotes is: "The ultimate test of a man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard." – U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson