Nat Chioke Williams

As Executive Director, Nat Chioke Williams leads the Hill-Snowdon Foundation in its philanthropic and programmatic work, operations and partnerships within the community. Nat manages HSF’s Youth Organizing and Fund for DC programs. He is also responsible for developing learning and leveraging opportunities in these program areas. Back in 2015, Nat took the lead on the Foundation’s newly launched Making Black Lives Matter Initiative, a three year grantmaking and strategic co-funding initiative that seeks to maximize this historic moment to begin building long term institutional and political power for Black social change and racial justice. In partnership with other social justice funders, Nat served as the co-chair for the Funders Collaborative for Youth Organizing as the organization established itself in the field. Nat led the development of and served as the co-chair for Grantmakers for Southern Progress, a network of local, regional, and national funders committed to leveraging resources to help build a vibrant and enduring infrastructure for social justice in the US South. In response to the racial justice uprisings of 2020, Nat is leading the development of the Freedom Funders – a philanthropic community of purpose, will, support and action dedicated to building a philanthropy for Black Freedom and Liberation. Nat is also currently serving on the Tides Advocacy Board and the Advancement Project Board. ​ Nat’s funding experience has focused on community organizing and youth organizing, and his background includes research on the socio-political development of African American youth activists, social movements, social oppression and liberation psychology; tenant organizing and non-profit management consulting. He previously served on the board of the Funders’ Collaborative on Youth Organizing and the board of the Neighborhood Funders Group. Nat’s prior philanthropic work in youth and community organizing includes positions as Program Officer for Youth Development at the Edward Hazen Foundation and Program Officer for the New York Foundation. Additionally, Nat has served as Assistant Professor of Black Studies for the State University of New York at New Paltz, Senior Program Associate for Community Resource Exchange in New York City, and Director of Organizing for the Urban Homesteading Assistance Board in New York City. Nat holds a B.A. in Psychology from Morehouse College, as well as a M.A. and Ph.D. in Community Psychology from New York University.