Jamie Williams on Nonprofit Leadership, Capacity, and Community-Centered Work

Nicole: [00:00:00] Hi, Jamie. Thank you so much for joining me today. I’m so excited to have this conversation with you and hear more about the amazing work that you’re doing. So, could you please introduce yourself and tell us a bit about your nonprofit journey? What led you into this work and what keeps you inspired today?

Jamie: Yeah, absolutely. Well, thank you for having me. I’m so grateful for the opportunity to just connect. Um, I actually, uh, so I’m Jamie Williams. I’m the CEO of Healthier Texas. We’re a statewide health advocacy organization that works to ensure that everyone has access to health, and that really means the things that happened before the doctor’s office.

Um. And so I am here in Texas. Uh, it’s a really unique place to be, but I started my, um, my life journey on the, in the Pacific Northwest. And, um, when I was [00:01:00] eight years old, my parents moved us away from all of our family to, from, um, Portland, Oregon to Oklahoma City. And what we found there was that they really needed community.

Um, and so despite not being terribly religious people, they joined a church. And it’s in that church where I really found what it was to be a part of community and, um, also service. So what that really looked like, um, interestingly at eight was being a part of a lot of potlucks and. Wine sessions that my parents were a part of, like it was a very social church that also did a lot of service within the city.

Um, and so I got to be a part of that service and got to be about a part of conversations about how you serve with dignity, um, and making sure that that people in community felt like partners, um, and not [00:02:00] charity. So when I was a freshman in high school, we actually moved to a small town in Texas that was primarily Latino, and that was the first time in my life that I really experienced systemic racism.

Um, and so I was living within it. Um. And could identify it just from the other places that I had lived, but it was so much a part of the culture there, and I think it really had a profound impact on me as a person and just seeing, um, the disparity and how I was able to live versus some of those folks that I was going to school with.

Um. And so not long after that, I went off to college. I got my degree and I ended up trying out a few roles in finance and ultimately deciding that I was, um, more mission driven. I’m on the cusp of gen, uh, gen X and Gen Z, eighties babies. So I started feeling like this poll to really do [00:03:00] something that had meaning, um, and ultimately ended up answering the helpline at the Alzheimer’s Association.

And it was such a unique experience because I would experience every emotion with these folks who would call in and were experiencing both this deep sense of grief, but also a celebration of the people they loved, whether it was themselves who, um, was a person with dementia or it was their caregiver that I was talking to.

What I found during that time, um, something that I actually always knew about myself that really was starting to come out in career was that I was. Incredibly sensitive and that crying alongside a client was maybe not the most appropriate, uh, role. And that I think the leadership in the organization recognized that too.

But there was also great opportunities, um, as a fundraiser there. And so they transitioned me into a fundraising role, which ultimately [00:04:00] really set the foundation for my career. Um, while I was there at the Alzheimer’s Association, I really started to experience some personal challenges and I actually, um, over the next six years had nine pregnancy losses along with the dissolution of a marriage.

And I have these very clear memories. Um, towards the end of that experience where I was sitting on the curb, uh, at a hospital in Seattle, it was pouring down rain and I had just had a procedure to end a pregnancy that was not viable, and my husband didn’t come and pick me up. So I was stuck outside of this hospital just like pouring in rain and feeling like.

I was just in a very dark place, and it was at that time because of my work in nonprofit and then also having seen these inequities that I realized that I just had to channel all this grief [00:05:00] into something that was more than myself. And so that’s when I realized that my calling was truly health equity and that there was a place for me.

To use my experiences to benefit people who had journeys that were much harder than mine because they didn’t have access to the same education that I’d had, or, um, the same resources, or simply just because they didn’t speak the same language or have the same skin color. And so, um, I used that to redesign my career, um, and really, uh, spent the next 12 years between both local and national levels at Susan g Komen and at, at, uh, the a LS Association.

In that work I led, um, fundraising efforts and then also affiliates throughout the country, um, and developed just this really [00:06:00] unique understanding of health equity and trying to understand how as a white, as a white privileged woman, I could really, um, serve as an advocate. And so in 2021, mid COVID, I had the opportunity to move to healthier Texas as the vice President of marketing and development.

And then a year later was promoted into the CEO role. And so now I sit in this seat, um, with an amazing team and opportunities to really redesign how we engage people in Texas in health, and ensuring that we develop a healthy and happy workforce. 

Nicole: What a journey. Um, first off, thank you for being so vulnerable and sharing so much about yourself.

I think, um, many people will be able to resonate with so many of the components that you shared, building community when you were young and with your family too. The loss and kind of like how you found yourself in [00:07:00] nonprofit and then the growth and the empathetic kind of lens and how that feeds so beautifully into the fundraising space through relationship building.

And I just, it, yeah. It’s beautiful, sad, and human. And thank you for sharing that. Yeah. Um, I think. Healthier. Texas is very fortunate to have someone like you in that space who can look at, uh, honestly reflect at their themselves and support the, the broader community and, um, really work through some of those, uh, potential like biases and challenges that so many people have to encounter.

So, thank you. Thank you for sharing that. Uh, through all of those pieces, what are some of the things that really light you up or get you excited about the work and keep you showing up? 

Jamie: Yeah, so you know what’s been so interesting is because a lot of my work has been with these big brands, I’ve always benefited from those [00:08:00] in that, um, I think there’s not as much competition when you work for a big brand.

Some of the elements that are traditionally, um, challenges at a smaller or grassroots organization just don’t exist. And along with that comes oftentimes this lack of a requirement for partnership. And so until I came to Healthier Texas, I don’t think I really understood the value of true partnership and what that looks like.

And so the thing that now that I get the most excited about is sitting in a room with other community based people and just talking about how we can make change together. And oftentimes it’s the non-revenue related conversations where it’s just like, what is the community solution that’s needed here and how do we use our pooled resources?

To make that happen. And that’s the place that I get like the most excited and energized. 

Nicole: I love it. I feel, uh, that [00:09:00] lands very well with where Tasha and I are at the nonprofit hive too. We’re building up those like ecosystem partnerships has been a lot of the, a fun process lately. And I think. Oftentimes we, we get stuck in this competition com space where we don’t, I don’t think the nonprofit sector really needs to, I think we can support one another really holistically and really hone in on like.

What we do well and then recognize that other nonprofits and charities are doing things very well and how we can support one another to benefit the greater good. So I, I love that that’s where you’re heading and continuing to have those conversations. And I think you’re right. Not all of them have a financial component to them, but that doesn’t mean it’s still not supporting the greater good and how we make impact and, um.

Sometimes I think we forget that piece, so I appreciate you naming that. So on the flip of that, that that gets you [00:10:00] excited, but what are some of the challenges or shifts you’re currently navigating in your organization or in the sector? How are you approaching them and do you have any supports or ideas that you think could offset some of those challenges?

Jamie: Yeah. So, uh, certainly I think in the sector, everyone’s feeling like a de decrease in funding. Um, both in, for those in the US at a federal level, but also private foundations. They’re trying to absorb those cuts that have come Federally we’re no different than that. We lost 80% of our funding as it related, um, to the federal funding cuts.

But I think in addition to that, in addition to the funding pieces and some of those challenges, what we’re also seeing, I think. For maybe the first time at least that I’m aware of, um, is that helpers are starting to have a target on their back. And where for the first time when I think we’ve always had this feeling of like, we’re, [00:11:00] we’re doing good and how can anyone not be on our side?

Like you might not be in a PO position to contribute, um, financially, but there was always this feeling of like solidarity and community and that. Those of us who chose, um, careers of service or who are doing volunteer work are doing good work. And I think there’s a major shift right now to where we’re more defensive about that good work and, and having to defend it in ways that I don’t think we ever anticipated or experienced.

Um, I think it really require, requires us to be bold and where in the past oftentimes, um. Leaders prior to us were able to approach the work out of Love alone and to say, you know, I want to make change because. Of something that’s impacted me or a life experience I’ve had. Um, but maybe not in the most strategic way.

Um, just I, there’s so many stories of grassroots [00:12:00] organizations that start around kitchen tables with neighbors just trying to figure out how to solve for, and I don’t know, I think that we’re in a position right now where we have to be so strategic. Focused and sharp and ready to respond to forces that are beyond what, what resources we have in many cases.

And so to do that, we have to be in a position where we are truly collaborating and sharing, um, focusing on our shared values versus on the things that separate us. I know. Last, last week in Texas, um, like a lot of the country, we had this Arctic event, which is so funny to those of you in Canada, right?

But like ice everywhere, all the businesses were shut down. Our schools were shut down for full five days. Um, and it just happened to be on the same week that the national like. Day of action was planned. And so [00:13:00] by Friday a lot of small businesses had already been closed for four days. And so we saw, um, many of those businesses who had planned to take part and shut down.

On that day post on social media that they weren’t in a position to do so because of the loss of revenue, because they had staff that worked in hourly roles. They didn’t feel like they could, um, take that time away from their staff. And what was really interesting is was to watch like this outcry of folks.

Really negative towards those people. And it was very divisive where it was like, if you’re not with us, you’re against us. And I think that we have real opportunities as not only community organizations, but just as a community that shares values to understand that what true equity is, is understanding that every person has different resources to bring to the table, and that we have to allow people.

To leverage the [00:14:00] resources they have. And that looks different for every person, but everybody’s contribution is valuable. And just because someone’s not able to bring the same things that you are in that moment doesn’t mean that their contribution is any less valuable. And I think we have to stay really focused on like that solidarity piece, shared values and shared vision and how we work together to make change.

Nicole: Yeah, I think you, you’ve. You said something that I’ve been feeling for a while for sure, and in that moment of like finding solidarity and the divisiveness of, I think it’s a global thing at this moment, and I think you’re hitting on so many key components that we have to give each other grace. We have to think, we have to think outside of our like echo chambers and we have to really start listening and understanding.

Where people are at and understanding again, that they’re human. And these are like, everybody has different [00:15:00] realities. Um, the example you shared specifically, it’s so easy to like get on your keyboard and start, you know. Throw in shade. But at the end of the day, if you were to actually just go and have a conversation with that individual, your perspective and your approach would be so different.

Um, but you, that keyboard warrior kind of concept, and I think we’ve lost the art of community, of connection of. Empathy. Um, and I, I really appreciate how, if we framed it in solidarity as a community, as a nation, as a, as people, as humans, not even a nation, but as humans first, I think, I think we’d be in a better space, but.

What do I know? What do we, I love it though. Um, this ties into, um, I think what kind of the direction where you are going and, you know, having those [00:16:00] conversations. And I’m curious, obviously you’re part of the nonprofit hive. Um, you get to have the opportunity to have conversations one-to-one with people you might not know.

Um, so I’d love to hear, have you had a conversation or an. Experience that’s kind of shaped your perspective a little differently or the work that you’re doing, uh, through the nonprofit? Hi, specifically. 

Jamie: Yeah. So I think every, every connection that I’ve had through the nonprofit profit hi has helped to shape, um, really my leadership and especially because I’m able to show up not as a CEO, and that’s like such a gift, right?

Is coming into rooms really without a title. To be able to learn from other people and then also to just share not only my experiences, but kind of how I’m feeling that day and not having to carry the weight of like I’m the leader in the room. And so it’s been so nice to just have that peer support. Um.

And I [00:17:00] think have developed relationships that continue on beyond those hi chats where I know, um, just a few weeks ago I spoke with Swati, um, from another Texas-based nonprofit and we’ve had the opportunity to introduce each other to other folks in our network and just let each other know that like we, while we’re.

Three and a half hours apart in this state that there’s still like-minded folks that are here in the state working on similar priorities. And so that’s been really great. 

Nicole: Oh, that I, I love Swati. She’s wonderful. Um, yes, you get to know everybody in the community too, which is quite, it’s a fun process. 

Jamie: Yes.

Nicole: Um, in the. To wrap, to wrap up, I guess. Um, I am curious what’s one insight, resource or mindset that’s helped you recently through some of the challenges or the things that light you up and what might help others in the community too? And I’d love to hear your perspective there. [00:18:00] 

Jamie: Yeah, so I recently started not only subscribing to Substack, but I have my own Substack.

And I think that that’s been like a really great reflection tool, um, of going in and reading other people’s thoughts, and then also being able to kind of write my thoughts down and not worry about how many subscribers I have or who’s reading it, but really using it kind of as that reflective space. Um, in my subscriptions, I actually had connected with somebody, um, Dr.

Rhonda Simmons, who yesterday posted this article that just shook me. And it was about how, um, as leaders sometimes we see, uh, lack of capacity as a personal failure instead of just recognizing that we’ve met our capacity. And that there’s an opportunity to kind of reframe how we receive. Like when our body’s telling [00:19:00] you you’re at capacity, that instead of receiving that as a failure, how do you redesign around that and recognize your limits?

Um, and so that really caused me after a year, a almost a year and a half in overdrive to be like, okay, it’s time to pump the brakes because to be. The best for my community. I have to start thinking about like, how do I create resilience in myself to ensure that beyond the stage of where we’re at, that I’m in a position to continue leading, um, and, and not feeling like a failure.

And so I think that that like the resources are. Reflection. Right. Spending a lot of time reflecting, learning from other people and using resources like Substack or those that show up in our social media spaces in maybe a less [00:20:00] judgmental way. Yeah. That really help us to grow. 

Nicole: I love that. I think, um, Substack has been great just to get the, uh, honest opinions, I guess, or like unfiltered and.

Um, unguarded and it, the algorithms aren’t shutting people down. Like it’s a safe, uh, not a safe space, but it’s almost like a, you’re allowed to be brave in those spaces, which I really respect. Mm-hmm. I also love what you shared about, um, the article that you read. I think I have 4-year-old twins, and if I heard that as soon as I came back to work, even as a new mom, like just in the spaces, um, I would’ve potentially thought how I moved.

Through the world a little differently than instead of beating myself up, which I think lots of parents and moms specifically do. So thank you for that. I will be pulling that into my, my thought process of moving forward into 2026. Um, so just to wrap up, [00:21:00] I’d love to know or share with everybody if you have a substack or where they can find you or where they can follow along on all the cool things you’re doing.

Jamie: Yeah, I think probably LinkedIn is the best. Place to find me. Um, he, I don’t know the, actually the best way, I don’t even know my LinkedIn handle, honestly, Nicole. That’s okay. Um, I sometimes post whatever I’m writing on Substack there, but I’m not like a super active substack writer. I’m just like, when I feel moved, I, I’ll write it and then, um, post back to my LinkedIn.

But that is the place. LinkedIn’s a place where I spend a lot of time, so. 

Nicole: That’s amazing. Thank you so much, Jamie. It was such a treat to chat with you and I can’t wait to continue to follow along on your journey. 

Jamie: Agreed. Thank you so much for the work y’all are doing to support the nonprofit hive. It’s much appreciated.

Nicole: Our pleasure. Have a great day. 

Jamie: You too.