Treva Williams

Growing up a preacher’s kid in rural Kansas, Treva saw first-hand how groups of committed people working together could transform a place, situation, or system. After studying education in college, she worked as a church youth director in Southeast Kansas, where she also coached middle school and high school volleyball, basketball, and track. For the 15 years she did this work, she honed her natural proclivities for leadership, team-building, and problem solving. When some of the young people she worked with found themselves caught in the snares of the criminal justice system, she knew she had to shift her focus. Still committed to walking with people through difficulty, she now sought a path to disrupting and dismantling the corrupt systems that led to their difficulty in the first place.  

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In 2012, she founded the Charleston Area Justice Ministry. Over the 10 years she led the organization, it became the largest coalition of faith leaders fighting for justice, equity, safety, and youth empowerment in the South. Treva believes strongly that those directly experiencing a problem are also best situated to solve that problem. She uses her vast experience in training, coaching, facilitation, project management, and public speaking to enhance, broaden, and sharpen the skills of those with whom she works.

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Throughout her long career as a community organizer, consultant, coach, and youth advocate, Treva has worked with diverse coalitions and too-often ignored communities. Whether consulting with an Appalachian nonprofit applying for an EPA grant, training a batch of faith leaders newly invested in social justice, or meeting with public officials to seek accountability alongside neighborhood environmental activists, she’s committed to a world where love, justice, health, and harmony are happening for everyone.