Oliver Williams

Oliver J. Williams, Ph.D., is the Executive Director of the Institute on Domestic Violence in the African American Community (IDVAAC) and a professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Minnesota in St. Paul. He is also the Director of the Safe Return Initiative that addresses the issues of prisoner reentry and domestic violence. He has worked in the field of domestic violence for more than twenty-nine years. Dr. Williams has worked in battered women’s shelters, developed curricula for batterers’ intervention programs, and facilitated counseling groups in these programs. He has provided training across the United States and abroad on research and service delivery surrounding partner abuse. Dr. Williams’ extensive research and publications in scholarly journals and books have centered on creating service delivery strategies to reduce violent behavior. Dr. Williams received a Bachelor’s degree in Social Work from Michigan State University; a Master’s degree in Social Work from Western Michigan University; and both a Master’s in Public Health and a Ph.D. in Social Work from the University of Pittsburgh.