[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 120 (Monday, July 25, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1163]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                     HONORING MR. JUNIOUS WILLIAMS

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. BARBARA LEE

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                         Monday, July 25, 2016

  Ms. LEE. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to honor the extraordinary career 
of Mr. Junious Williams, who is retiring from the position of Chief 
Executive Officer of the Urban Strategies Council after more than 
twenty years of service.
  Mr. Williams has an impressive education background, holding a Juris 
Doctorate in Law, and a Bachelor's degree in Sociology, from the 
University of Michigan.
  He began his legal career primarily as a champion of equal 
educational opportunity for minorities and inner city youth. In 
addition to private law practice, he has been an expert consultant in 
numerous school desegregation cases around the country. He founded the 
Saginaw (Michigan) Student Rights Center and was cofounder of the Ann 
Arbor Student Advocacy Center. Mr. Williams worked closely with a 
number of metropolitan school districts and parent groups on school 
desegregation issues, education equity and the administration of fair 
student discipline for minority and underprivileged students. Most 
notably, Mr. Williams served as Associate Director of the Programs for 
Educational Opportunity at the University of Michigan's School of 
Education.
  After moving to California, he served as an ally to resident-led 
base-building organizations on issues from developing small schools, to 
increasing site-based decision-making in Oakland Unified School 
District (OUSD), to negotiation and implementation of community 
benefits agreements so that benefits of development are equitably 
distributed. Further, Mr. Williams played a key role in transforming 
Oakland's public schools into hubs that address the needs of students 
and their families, beginning with his leadership of the movement for 
Village Centers and culminating in his efforts to help OUSD become one 
of the first Full-Service Community School districts in the nation.
  Mr. Williams has worked on numerous community building and community 
development efforts in Oakland, the Bay Area and other cities across 
the country. He currently serves as a founder and Board Chair for the 
Oakland Community Land Trust, which is working to acquire and 
rehabilitate vacant, foreclosed properties in Oakland and make these 
housing units available to low income buyers.
  He also serves as Co-Chair of the Steering Committee for the Oakland 
Emerald Cities Collaborative, a national nonprofit network of 
organizations working together to advance a sustainable environment 
while creating a high-road, clean-energy economy with opportunities for 
all. Other current board service includes the Union Bank Community 
Advisory Board, the Center for Law and Education, and the National 
Trust for the Development of African American Men.
  Furthermore, Mr. Williams joined the Urban Strategies Council in 1992 
and was appointed CEO in 1998. He led the Council's creation of, and 
participation in, many cross-sector collaborations, making positive 
impact in areas from afterschool programs to violence prevention, from 
asset building to reentry. He also oversaw multiple Urban Strategies 
Council reports on African American male students that played a key 
role in Oakland Unified School District's Voluntary Resolution Plan 
with the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Civil Rights.
  Today, California's 13th Congressional District salutes and honors a 
great friend of the Bay Area and a true champion for equity, Mr. 
Junious Williams. His work with the Urban Strategies Council has had a 
tremendously positive impact on California's 13th District, and we are 
lucky to have him remain active in our community in all of his future 
endeavors.

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