Joy Williams
Director, Entrepreneurship Assistance Center & Community Engagement @Hofstra - Institute Of Innovation And Entrepreneurship
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WORK HISTORY
Director, Entrepreneurship Assistance Center & Community Engagement @Hofstra - Institute Of Innovation And Entrepreneurship
Oversee community engagement programming and the Entrepreneurship Assistance Center within Hofstra University\'s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, working in close collaboration with the Institute\'s Executive Director and Director to advance the Institute\'s broader entrepreneurial ecosystem mission.• Direct the strategy, operations, and programming of the state-sanctioned Entrepreneurship Assistance Center, designing curriculum, mentorship frameworks, and training programs that empower emerging entrepreneurs across diverse communities.• Lead community engagement initiatives that build and strengthen partnerships with government agencies, corporate partners, community-based organizations, and local entrepreneurs — driving economic development and entrepreneurship access for underserved founders.• Manage adjunct and practitioner involvement within EAC programming, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and quality standards.• Oversee program budgets and performance outcomes for the EAC and community engagement portfolio.• Foster cross-sector relationships that connect the Institute\'s resources to the broader entrepreneurial community across Long Island and the New York metropolitan area.
EDUCATION
Vassar College
AB, Economics
Spelman College
Junior Year Exchange Student
Betsy Magness Leadership Institute (BMLI)
Class XIV
Columbia Business School
MBA, Media, Finance
The New School
MA, Media Studies
SKILLS
ABOUT JOY WILLIAMS
I build ecosystems — for entrepreneurs, for communities, and for institutions trying to do both well.My career has moved across media, finance, and education, but a single thread connects all of it: a belief that access to opportunity is the most powerful lever for individual and community transformation. I\'ve spent 20+ years creating the conditions for that access — through programming, partnerships, funding, and the kind of sustained relationship-building that turns good intentions into measurable outcomes.Today I lead strategy and operations for Hofstra University\'s Institute of Innovation and Entrepreneurship, directing the Entrepreneurship Assistance Center and overseeing community engagement initiatives that connect emerging entrepreneurs — particularly those from underserved communities — to training, mentorship, and capital. Before Hofstra, I spent years as a business coach at Columbia Business School and led entrepreneurship education programming across New York, Toronto, and Sydney through Lean Startup Machine.I founded SoulJoy Wellness in 2019 as a state-funded initiative at the intersection of health equity, community economic empowerment, and entrepreneurship. What started as a wellness platform became a proof of concept for something I\'d long believed: that community well-being and economic well-being are inseparable. SoulJoy gave me the founder\'s experience — securing grants, building government and corporate partnerships, launching a technology platform — that makes me a more effective educator and ecosystem builder for the entrepreneurs I now serve.Earlier in my career I was a Senior Director at ESPN, an AVP at JPMorgan Chase, and a production coordinator at HBO — roles that gave me the operational rigor, financial discipline, and cross-functional leadership experience I draw on every day.I hold an MBA from Columbia Business School, where I served as Student Body President, and led the African American Alumni Association of CBS for seventeen years.If you\'re working at the intersection of entrepreneurship, economic equity, and community impact — I\'d love to connect.
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