Formerly, Williams was City Manager for the City of San José, California, managing San José’s multi-faceted local government with over 20 departments, approximately 6,000 employees, and a total City budget in excess of $1.7 billion. Previously, Williams was Assistant City Manager in San José for five years, spanning a total ten-year stay in San Jose.
Prior to serving in San José, Williams was Deputy City Manager and Chief of Staff for the City of Richmond, Virginia, the first female appointed to such a position in Richmond. In addition to her Deputy City Manager duties in Richmond, for a time Williams served as the Interim Director of Public Safety. In this capacity she directed the Police, Fire and Emergency Communications Services. She first began in Richmond as the Director of Personnel in 1979.
In 1982, Williams was appointed by then Virginia Governor Charles Robb as the first female and first African American to be State Director of Personnel and Training, responsible for a personnel system that covered over 70,000 employees.
In addition to her Norfolk City Manager responsibilities, most recently Williams has been appointed to Governor Tim Kaine’s State Economic Development Advisory Steering Committee. Under Governor Mark Warner, she served on his Governor-Elect “Put Virginia First” Transition Committee which provided the governor-elect advice and consultation on putting his administration together as he took office. She also served on Governor Mark Warner’s “Secure Virginia Initiative” which was responsible for developing the State’s domestic security plan.
Williams’ public administration career spans over 36 years starting as Director of Personnel and Labor Relations for the City of Ypsilanti, Michigan.
Regina Williams was born in Detroit, Michigan, and educated in Detroit’s public school system. Graduating from high school at age 16, she attended Eastern Michigan University, and received a Bachelor of Science Degree, majoring in English and Sociology. She later received a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Virginia Commonwealth University. She has taken numerous post graduate leadership and business management courses, and she is a certified MBTI facilitator.
In 1991 Mrs. Williams was inducted as a fellow into the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA). Chartered by the U. S. Congress, NAPA elects a limited number of individuals with distinguished records of performance as either a practitioner or a scholar in public administration and management. Williams has been a vice-president on the Board of Directors for the International City-County Management Association (ICMA). Williams also served as the President of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators, and is a founder and former President of the Richmond, Virginia Chapter of the Conference of Minority Public Administrators (an affiliate of the American Society of Public Administration). Williams is a silver member of Alpha Kappa alpha Sorority, DC and Links, Inc. and a former Rotarian.
Williams was honored in September 2002 as ICMA’s first Outstanding Manager of the Year and in 2003 was recognized by Governing Magazine as one of their Public Officials of the Year. Also, Williams is the recipient of the T. Edward Temple Public Executive-in-Residence honor awarded by Virginia Commonwealth University, Public Administration Program. She also received the Marks of Excellence Award from the National Forum of Black Public Administrators. In addition, Williams has received numerous other national and local awards in recognition of professional achievements and community involvement.
Sponsored by the United States Aid to Developing Countries (US-AID), Williams has provided management training and public administration consultant services to several cities in South Africa and Quito, Ecuador. She also has served as guest lecturer at Harvard and Stanford Universities and been an adjunct faculty member at several universities.
Williams was married for 40 years to Drew B. Williams who passed away in January 2008. They have 3 children and 11 grandchildren. She is a grand master porcelain doll artist and regularly competes internationally in the making of dolls. She also paints in water color medium and is an avid reader and writer.
