We Are Inspired By This BOSS: Erica Williams

Erica Williams is the Deputy Director of Progress 2050, a project of the Center for American Progress, a nonprofit think tank headquartered in Washington, DC, that develops new ideas for an increasingly diverse America. The project seeks to build a progressive agenda that is more inclusive and reflects the rich racial and ethnic makeup of the nation. Progress 2050 does this by promoting innovative policy ideas, facilitating honest dialogue about the intersection of race and policy, analyzing demographics, and developing new leaders.

Listed by Politico.com as one of Top 50 Politicos to Watch, she is the former Deputy Director and Policy Manager of Campus Progress, the youth outreach arm of the Center where she still serves as a senior advisor. While there, she led the staff and network of young Americans in advancing progressive policy with and for 18- to 27-year-olds across the nation. Her advocacy work focused on economic mobility, equal opportunity, health care, and clean energy.

Before joining the Center for American Progress, Erica worked at the Leadership Conference on Civil Right to coordinate grassroots activity in nearly 45 states to advance effective civil and human rights legislation at the federal level.

She is a past participant of the American University Women and Political Leadership Training Program, a 2008 O Magazine Women Rule Leadership winner, and a 2008 Aspen Institute IDEAS fellow and a graduate of University of Maryland College Park with a degree in African American Studies and Public Policy. An accomplished vocalist and finalist for Miss District of Columbia, Erica is a Washington D.C. native and currently resides there.

We will highlight Ms. Williams, and nine other phenomenal women, at The BOSS Network's "Influencers" event on September 8, 2010 in Washington, D.C. You can register for the event on the right of the page. Come out and be inspired!