Dr. Christopher Williams is a leader and innovator in youth mental health and education, most recently serving as Executive Director of Mental Health and Wellness at the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE). At SCOE, Chris was the primary architect for the Schools as Centers of Wellness partnership. Currently, Chris supports multiple LEAs and organizations as they navigate student mental health and wellness solutions. Chris serves as Vice President of Strategy and Design at Appa Health, and is founder and CEO of Innovative Strategies Group, LLC.

For close to 20 years, Chris has been involved in education and youth development. In New York City, he served on the Supervisory Roundtable for Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s Task Force on Chronic Absenteeism, Truancy and School Engagement, and while at SCOE he co-chaired the Sacramento County Mental Health Services Act Steering Committee and he currently sits on the California State Student Mental Health Policy Workgroup, and the California State Student Attendance Review Board (SARB). He is a co-author of the RISE Program for Dropout Prevention and Attendance Improvement, and the SOAR approach to classroom management.

Chris has taught at Columbia University, NYU, and Harvard where he was awarded the Excellence in Teaching distinction. He has been a featured speaker at national and international conferences on education and social work, including the International Conference on Biopsychosocial Interventions in Educational Contexts, in Chile. He holds a master’s degree in Social Work from New York University and a Doctorate in Education Leadership from Harvard Graduate School of Education. He currently lives in Roseville, with his wife, 2 boys, and Lexie: a 75 lb. rescue shepherd-mutt whose goal in life is to be a lap dog.