[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 6 (Friday, January 10, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E23-E24]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                      TRIBUTE TO LISA C. WILLIAMS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JAMES E. CLYBURN

                           of south carolina

                    in the house of representatives

                        Friday, January 10, 2020

  Mr. CLYBURN. Madam Speaker, I rise today to pay tribute to a great 
humanitarian, a proud military veteran, and a woman some call ``a 
latter-day Harriett Tubman.'' Lisa C. Williams is a survivor, a fighter 
and a champion for all who have been sexually exploited. She is an 
inspiration and an example of how one person can make a tremendous 
change in the world.
  A U.S. Air Force and Army commissioned officer, Ms. Williams left the 
service with an honorable discharge and set her sights on helping women 
and children victimized by sex trafficking, sexual exploitation, and 
intimate partner violence. Drawing from her own experiences to find 
freedom from a life of trauma and sexual abuse, she founded Circle of 
Friends: Celebrating Life, Inc., in 1999. She has worked for more than 
twenty years to help educate, equip, and empower women to live their 
best lives, free of violence.
  As the founder of Living Water Learning Resource Center, Ms. Williams 
has developed a program that the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) 
calls ``one of the most comprehensive, rehabilitative programs for 
child victims of sex trafficking in the country.'' Over the years, she 
has helped hundreds of children and young women reclaim their lives 
from sexual abuse.
  Ms. Williams is an author, an orator, and a thought leader and has 
taken her message to the White House and the United Nations. She 
travels the world as a motivational Speaker for the Centre for H.O.P.E. 
(Helping Other People Excel), and hosts the podcast Front Porch 
Conversations.
  I have grown to know Ms. Williams through her partnership and support 
of the annual National Health Disparities Conference, which I help 
coordinate with the Medical University of South Carolina and can attest 
to her powerful presence and message.
  Her work has been featured in numerous publications, including: O 
Magazine, Essence, Ebony, Glamour, Black Enterprise, Good Housekeeping, 
Woman's Day, Cosmopolitan, and Seventeen. She has appeared in film and 
television on the award-winning CNN Special Report: Children for Sale: 
The Fight to End Human Trafficking, CNN International News, CNN Freedom 
Project, BBC Brazil, and C-SPAN.
  Ms. Williams has been honored by numerous organizations, including 
CNN, Ford Motor Company, Porsche USA, YWCA, Glamour, and L'Oreal Paris.
  She earned a Bachelor of Science from Campbell University, a Masters 
of Arts from Bowie State University and attended a doctoral program at 
Virginia Tech. Ms. Williams latest endeavor is establishing the Circle 
of Friends Impact and Circle of Friends Impact Legacy Scholarship Fund 
endowments at Boston University.
  To honor her contributions, the university will dedicate the Lisa C. 
Williams Listening Room in her honor at the Howard Thurman Center for 
Common Ground. This room is a safe space for quiet meditation, 
introspection and contemplation, which is being dedicated on Martin 
Luther King, Jr. Day this year. The room dedication is part of a 
program spotlighting women who advocate for social justice.
  Madam Speaker, I ask you and our colleagues to join me in applauding 
the selfless work that Lisa C. Williams has done to end sexual 
exploitation and help those who have been victimized by this brutal 
crime to live their best lives. She is a true example of selfless 
service for country and community, and her work has changed so many 
lives, including her own. I offer Ms. Williams best wishes as she is 
honored in Boston, and I look forward to watching her ongoing efforts 
and their tremendous impacts.

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