50 Most Influential Clinical Executives - 2024

Williams is Yale New Haven Hospital’s first Black chief nursing officer, a position she has held since 2018. She has publicly emphasized the need to address bias and other hurdles facing nurses of color. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she worked to implement staffing models to effectively leverage nurses in overwhelmed units. More recently, she has served on the Joint Commission Board of Commissioners and the American Nurses Foundation Board of Trustees. She will become the American Organization for Nursing Leadership board president in 2026.