My name is Maya Williams and I was born and raised in Toledo, Ohio. I have a 3-year-old son who motivates every day to fulfill my accomplishments for both of us. In December 2019, I graduated from The University of Toledo with a Bachelor of Communication Studies. Currently, I am attending Bowling Green State University studying Media and Communication: Strategic Communication and Social Media for my master’s degree. I completed two successful internships, 13abc Action News and The Washington Center. Since I am interested in opportunities involving in social media, communications, digital marketing, entrepreneurship, and writing, I decided to further my experience with Women of Toledo.
During my internship experience through The Washington Center, I interned at the National Organization of Black Elected Legislative Women, which also led me to have a desire for leadership and advocacy for black women and equal rights.
My approach to Women of Toledo involves completing projects for #419Women's campaign, digital marketing, research in diversity, and inclusion. Projects that I have completed include research on historian Hispanic women in honor of Hispanic Heritage Month and searching for Hispanic restaurants in the local community for citizens to celebrate. At the time, I met Rhonda Sewell, a manager of External and Governmental Affairs who became a great mentor for me in pursuing my entrepreneurial and book author career.
Empowering and uplifting women is one of my passions due to experiencing discrimination in the workplace and school. Gender equality is a fundamental right and there is still a long way to achieve equal rights for women. We must call to action by starting with educating people about the importance of equality.
As a black woman, I have experienced disadvantages at school and in the workplace. I love that I did not prevent myself from achieving my passion and goals of success. I would recommend every woman to follow their dreams and achieve success despite the obstacles or hardships that they may endure.
As a parent, graduate student, and apprentice, I have learned to push myself more for my son and teach him to respect women and know that they matter. Once I contributed to work with Women of Toledo, I felt like I could be myself. I feel comfortable when I talk with the task team at Women of Toledo and working on projects. Also, my networking skills increased by meeting Women of Toledo's Mentors via Zoom during this time. Thank you to Women of Toledo for this abundance of visibility, experiences, and opportunities. As a result, I want to set an example for women to recognize the importance of feeling accepted and knowing that their voice matters. I look forward to serving and working on future projects with the Women of Toledo.
Maya Williams serves as our Young Women of Toledo Apprenticeship Class 2020/2021. Young Women of Toledo (YWOT) Apprenticeship is an opportunity for diverse females ages 17 to 26, to earn real-life experience working on advocacy, diversity & inclusion campaigns, #419Women's campaigns, and women’s issues side along with our Task Force. Our Apprentices can also use the hours spent during the Apprenticeship as part of their school internships program and/or praticum hours. Other than helping build self and others empowerment, our Apprentices strive to emulate our three pillars to Educate, Engage, and Empower through diversity and inclusion while advocating for women’s economic advancement.