With over 15 years of thought leadership experience, Michelle Williams is a social impact and
innovation strategist, empowering corporations and non-profit organizations to better define, execute,
and implement their impact, philanthropic, and equity-centered goals. Named as one of the “Top
Innovators Reshaping Texas” by Texas Monthly magazine, Michelle is committed to sharing resources,
best practices, and knowledge with underrepresented, rural communities across the state.
Michelle currently serves as the Vice President of Texas Strategy for MassChallenge, an organization
that has supported over 4,000 startups in raising well over $9 billion in funding over the last 12 years.
MassChallenge has offices in Boston, Houston, Dallas, and operates in 18 other countries across Asia,
Africa, Latin America, and Europe, empowering local communities with entrepreneurship.
Her extensive consulting experience spans multiple industries, including educational institutions where
she advised on the creation of an institute integrating business academics with local entrepreneurial
initiatives. She has also partnered with financial institutions to develop business support programs and
led strategic revitalizations for commercial associations, enhancing their strategic plans and fundraising
approaches. Moreover, she directed the strategic framework and implementation for a prominent
enterprise’s entrepreneurial ecosystem.
In her previous role as the Executive Director for The Dallas Entrepreneur Center (The DEC Network),
she fundraised over $2.5 million and launched a cross-sector initiative across three strategic locations.
This initiative oversaw a collaboration between UNT Dallas, Paul Quinn College, the cities of Dallas,
Irving, and Richardson, and over 60 business service organizations.
