By Brandon Huang, 2023 Union Board Director of Internal Communications
Jeff Williams graduated from Indiana University in 2012 after serving on Union Board as the Director of Destinations / Spirits on the 2010 board. He is a marketing professional as well as a social entrepreneur that takes pride in working to support his communities. Jeff is from Indianapolis, Indiana and is currently based in Dallas, Texas. In this segment, Jeff shares successes from his foundation and his experiences with Union Board.
What is your current occupation and what are your responsibilities?
I am a Marketing Manager focused on Consumer Insights at PepsiCo Frito Lay based in Plano, TX, a suburb of Dallas. Alongside my full-time job, I am the co-founder of Be Nimble Foundation, a non-profit I started back in 2017, based in my hometown of Indianapolis, IN where we focus on workplace development and tech/entrepreneurship support for the Black and LatinX community!
We have industry-focused accelerators for Black and Brown founders and upskilling programs that provides access to tech-based certificates for free.
Garden Pardi and Pardi Gras are the anchor events of our winter and summer event series that serves as a bi-annual fundraiser and a huge awareness campaign for our programs to help increase our pipeline of talent and entrepreneurs we support.
Since we have started, we provided over $1.5 million in startup capital and resources for founders of color and helped over 200 people get higher paying jobs in tech!
How has Union Board and the IMU contributed to your success since graduation?
Union Board gave me the confidence and courage to step out and inspire others to unite over common goals that positively serve my community. Tangibly, it helped me learn the skills required to throw high- scale events and programs from budgeting to vendor-sourcing.
What was your role with Union Board and when were you involved?
I started early on as a committee lead and after being inspired, I ran for Union Board and was blessed and honored to be the #1 vote getter that year! I ran the Destinations / Spirits committee!
What advice would you give to current and future Union Board members?
Be daring! Also, think beyond what may serve you and your social circles, but get active in the community and gather diverse perspectives to enhance the creativity, participation, and experience of your programs!
What’s your favorite memory from when you were involved with Union Board?
So many! The bonding at the Union Board retreat comes to mind first. But in thinking of our programs, I’d say our cultural excursions to DC and our alternative spring break to New Orleans. It was awesome to provide students an opportunity to travel, immersing themselves in a different culture albeit still in America, particularly those who have historically not had the resources to do so!
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