Adrienne Williams

Dr. Adrienne A. Williams is a licensed clinical health psychologist and Professor of Family and Community Medicine. She serves as the inaugural Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) for the Department of Family and Community Medicine, where she founded and chairs the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Council and the Faculty Orientation Committee, uniting residents, faculty, and staff to advance departmental DEI initiatives.

At the College of Medicine, Dr. Williams established and chairs the Department Liaisons for Inclusiveness, Networking, and Knowledge-Sharing (COM D-LINK), fostering collaboration among DEI liaisons across campuses to exchange strategies, align programming, and disseminate best practices. She also developed and directs the Services for Enrichment and Educational Development (SEED) Program, a Graduate Medical Education initiative that equips residents and fellows with skills to promote equitable outcomes through skill building and cultural responsiveness. Additionally, she serves on the College Committee on DEI and the CDEI Professionalism Committee.

Dr. Williams has designed and delivered interprofessional curricula addressing cultural identity, weight bias, hierarchical language, gender-affirming care, microaggressions, cultural humility, and patient spirituality. Her scholarship includes publications on African American health behaviors, health behaviors at HBCUs, and attitudes toward alternative sexuality populations, as well as research on building diversity within residency programs.

Her advocacy for LGBTQIA+ health equity includes service on the Chancellor’s Committee on the Status of LGBTQA, the LGBT Advisory Panel, Marylanders for Marriage Equality, Duke University’s LGBT Task Force, and SAFE on Campus. As editor of The Health Psychologist, she launched the “Focus on Diversity” column, and she has supported immigrant justice through the Chicago Religious Leadership Network on Latin America and a Chicago-based Sanctuary Team.