Rev. Dr. Helen Easterling Williams serves as Founder and CEO of Health, Education, and Welfare International, LLC, a firm that provides consultative services with a strong focus on leadership designed to improve the health, education, and welfare of individuals, faith-based organizations, and elementary, secondary, and higher education institutions. Upon retirement in 2024 from the role of Vice Chancellor of Advancement at Pepperdine University in California, she was awarded the title of Dean Emeritus of their Graduate School of Education and Psychology. As Dean, she managed the efforts of approximately 270 faculty, 100 staff, 18 board members, and numerous volunteers while overseeing the educational experience of approximately 3,640 on-ground and online students. She added new programs and increased the revenue by 352% over an eight year period. She also developed community engagement programs such as Urban Initiatives 2.0. Dr. Easterling Williams previously held the deanship at the School of Education at Azusa Pacific University, where she successfully led school reaccreditation efforts and initial accreditation for the Education Psychology Program. She founded the Emerging Technology Center, developed an international visiting scholar program, developed the Strategic Plan 2015, and piloted the African American Male Academy in STEM.

Before entering the higher education arena, Dr. Easterling Williams served as a Speech Therapist in the Baltimore City Public School System (MD) and the Brandywine School District in Delaware. She particularly enjoyed working with students with disabilities, military veterans and their dependents, and with computer science and business administration students at the Delaware Technical and Community College. This propelled her into higher education administration where she served for well over two decades. She earned a Doctor of Education degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Delaware, a Master of Science degree in Speech and Language Pathology from Towson State University in Maryland, and a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Correction with a minor in Biology from Jersey City State College in New Jersey. While her dissertation focused on the topic of internationalizing the community college, her scholarship has also focused on education leadership, particularly as it relates to technology and women. She is an Honorary Lecturer of the COGDEL/Beijing #35 School in China, the Los Angeles Business Journal Women’s Council Executive of the Year 2019, a lifetime member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and an ordained Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church. Dr. Easterling Williams is blessed to have two daughters, a son-in-love, and three grandchildren that inspire her daily.