Anne Williams-Isom is a lawyer and public servant who stepped into the role of Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services in January 2022. She has earned a strong reputation as a dedicated advocate for child welfare and community development. Read on to learn more about this impactful politician on queensyes.com.
Education and Legal Career
Anne Williams-Isom was born in Queens on November 17, 1964. In 1986, she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science and Psychology from Fordham University in New York City. That same year, she began working in the Community Affairs division of the New York City Police Department in Brooklyn. In 1991, Williams-Isom earned her Juris Doctor degree from Columbia Law School in New York. While still in law school, Williams-Isom developed an interest in advocacy and saw the impact communities could have on finding long-term solutions to social problems. For nearly five years, Williams-Isom practiced law at two prestigious New York firms: Robinson, Silverman, Pearce, Aronsohn, and Berman, and Kalkines, Arky, Zall & Bernstein.
Champion for Children’s Rights
In 1996, Williams-Isom began a thirteen-year journey in a leadership role at the New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). This government agency monitors parents, guardians, and minors to protect children and investigate potential abuses. Williams-Isom launched and oversaw the implementation of a number of innovative initiatives. Notably, she developed the administration’s first-ever Leadership Academy for Child Protection, a program designed to promote the swift investigation of child abuse and neglect cases.
In 2009, Williams-Isom took on the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO) at the Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ), a nonprofit organization dedicated to children and families in the impoverished Harlem area. HCZ supports low-income families through parenting workshops, pre-school programs, enrollment in public charter schools, and child-focused health initiatives. Known as an innovative leader in education, community development, and poverty reduction, HCZ serves thousands of children and their families. As COO, Williams-Isom led HCZ’s 2,100 employees, overseeing all the organization’s programs. In 2014, the Queens native was promoted to Chief Executive Officer of HCZ.
At the Fordham Graduate School of Social Service, Williams-Isom was appointed head of the child welfare research division. Notably, this graduate school was founded in 1916 and is considered one of the oldest and largest schools of social work in the U.S. Additionally, Williams-Isom serves on the advisory board of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving life outcomes for Black boys and young men. The alliance believes that collective work by community leaders, supported by public and private institutions, can lead to sustainable change at the local level. In 2016, then-NYC Mayor Bill de Blasio appointed Anne Williams-Isom to the Children’s Cabinet Advisory Board.
Political Career
In December 2021, NYC Mayor Eric Adams appointed Anne Williams-Isom as his Deputy Mayor for Health and Human Services. In this role, she has focused her efforts on expanding access to social services for all city residents, improving their overall health, and transforming the city’s health care system. Furthermore, one of her primary duties is collaborating with the agencies that oversee the city’s most vulnerable populations, including children in foster care and residents of homeless shelters.
The Deputy Mayor controls and coordinates the work of a wide range of agencies, including NYC Health + Hospitals, the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, the Department of Social Services, the Human Resources Administration, the Department of Homeless Services, the Administration for Children’s Services, the Department for the Aging, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Mayor’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, the Mayor’s Office to End Domestic and Gender-Based Violence, the Department of Veterans’ Services, and the Office of Community Mental Health.
Williams-Isom has also taken on the role of de facto leader for the interagency response to the influx of migrants. Her colleagues and the agencies reporting to her describe the Queens native as a deliberate leader who is simultaneously compassionate and pragmatic in her work. She advocates for ensuring all asylum seekers feel comfortable. Williams-Isom spearheaded the process of moving individuals sheltering in the subway system to shelters, and moving people with mental illnesses to hospitals. This initiative faced sharp criticism from homeless advocates.
The politician also served as the First Deputy Mayor of New York for several hours on the morning of October 8, 2024—following the official resignation of Sheena Wright from the position and prior to the official appointment of Maria Torres-Springer.
- https://www.concordia.net/community/anne-williams-isom/
- https://www.fordham.edu/give/ways-to-give/womens-philanthropy/fordham-womens-summit-philanthropy–empowerment–change/womens-summit-archive/2018-womens-summit/2018-womens-philanthropy-summit-keynote-speakers/anne-l-williams-isom/
- https://www.concordialive.com/AnnualSummit23/speaker/882073/anne-williams-isom