MY STORY

Photo: headshot of Charisse M. Williams

Hi! My name is Charisse M. Williams, and I am a leadership and well-being coach.

I help high-achieving leaders create work-life harmony and build strong teams.

I serve clients through 1:1 coaching, speaking, team building retreats and speaking about my book, The Joy of Thriving While Black.

This is my journey to becoming a full-time entrepreneur and coach.

For 25 years I worked in the nonprofit sector with a focus on human rights, education, criminal and juvenile justice reform issues.

In my executive leadership roles, I launched program sites in new cities, raised millions of dollars, recruiting dozens of board members and volunteers all while driving transformational change for the people and communities I served.

The year 2007 was pivotal for me. That year I packed up my life in DC and moved to Atlanta to become the founding Director of Posse Atlanta, the local site of a national youth leadership development, college scholarship program. 

It was my dream job, but the deeper I got into the work, the more scared I became. What in the world had I gotten myself into?! "Imposter syndrome" hit me like a ton of bricks. There was so much I didn't know: how could I possibly be good at this role? 

Photo: Charisse doing yoga in Mexico

I needed help.

I needed someone to bounce my ideas off of, listen when I was unsure and help me become a more confident leader and decision-maker. It wasn’t until my next role that I finally got my first executive coach, and the results were transformative.

My coach supported me as I restructured my team, updated my strategic plan, and ultimately merged my organization with another. More importantly, he helped me understand my strengths and how to use them to show up as my best self every day. He also helped me see my blind spots and how I could partner with others to still achieve good results in those areas.

I worked with my first coach for two years, and I remember thinking, “What a cool job. Maybe I would be a good coach someday.”

Fast forward ten years, another nonprofit role and a short stint as a nonprofit consultant and I decided to become a full-time leadership coach. I wanted to be the coach I wished I had when I took on my first non-profit Executive Director role. 

But before launching my full-time coaching practice, I took a three-month sabbatical. During that time I bought a one-way ticket to Amsterdam and a return ticket from Marrakesh five weeks later, traveling solo through Europe and North Africa with no itinerary.

The COVID pandemic was declared just seven weeks after I started my business. To say that the pandemic and racial reckoning of 2020 tested my decision to become a full-time entrepreneur would be an understatement, but it also affirmed it.

Those events also inspired my first book, The Joy of Thriving While Black. I wanted to contribute to the dominant narrative about Black lives. Yes, we experience marginalization and oppression, and there is so much beauty and joy in our collective story.

I wake up daily feeling so grateful for my work and clients. I have created the career of my dreams.

Even with the demands of entrepreneurship, I am great at creating work/life harmony.

When I am not working, you will likely find me reading, tending my growing plant family, catching a live concert or visiting museums and cultural events.

I am constantly learning, whether it’s from NPR and my favorite podcasts or taking classes like improv comedy or painting.

When poet Mary Oliver asks, “Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” My response is, “Everything!”

Photo: Charisse standing in large, ornate doorway in Marrakech.

My life, executive leadership, and coaching experiences have led me to the following beliefs: 

  • We make our highest contributions when we utilize our talents and strengths daily. 

  • Our minds are our most important tool; with the right mindsets and beliefs, who we want to be and everything we want to achieve becomes 10x easier.

  • We thrive when we have access to psychologically safe communities where we can fully be ourselves.

  • We sustain ourselves and our work by taking great care of ourselves physically, mentally, and spiritually.

I was destined to be a resource to others who are on a similar journey of personal and professional growth and discovery.

If my story resonates with you, we’ll probably enjoy working together. Thank you for stopping by and I look forward to meeting you.

EXPERIENCE

Book

  • The Joy of Thriving While Black (New Degree Press April, 2021)

Media

Current Work

  • Founder, Charisse M. Williams Leadership Coaching

  • Founder and Teacher, Charisse M. Williams Yoga

  • Facilitator, Fast Forward Group

Previous Executive + Leadership Experience

Education and Relevant Training:

  • Life Coaching Certification, Lumia

  • Executive Coaching Fellowship, The Management Center

  • 200-hour Certified Yoga Teacher, Kashi Atlanta

  • Juris Doctor, Northwestern University School of Law

  • Bachelor of Arts in Africana Studies, Cornell University