Kenya Williams is the CEO of the National Student Nurses’ Association, an organization she’s been involved with since studying in UMSL’s College of Nursing as an RN to BSN student over a decade ago. (Photo courtesy of Kenya Williams)

On her very first day of classes at St. Louis Community College at Florissant Valley, Kenya Williams watched a video that would set the course of her future career. Williams and her classmates were shown a video from the American Nurses Association featuring then-president Beverly Malone, who talked about her work advocating for nurses across the country through the organization. The video also spotlighted the work of the National Student Nurses’ Association.

“She was the one person in the video with whom I connected,” Williams remembered. “And I said, ‘Well, you know, I can do something like that.’”

Nancy Pea, a nursing professor at St. Louis Community College, first introduced Williams to both the NSNA and the Missouri Nursing Students’ Association and invited her to attend her first student nurse convention in Jefferson City, Missouri. That experience at the Missouri Nursing Students’ Association convention left Williams hooked.

After earning her associate degree at St. Louis Community College, Williams enrolled in the College of Nursing at the University of Missouri–St. Louis as an RN to BSN student, eager to continue her involvement at the baccalaureate level. She immediately sought guidance from Nursing Dean Juliann Sebastian, who became another mentor and further sharpened Williams’ leadership acumen.

“I knew that being involved with NSNA was a way I could make an impact not only for Missourians but nationwide – especially for those who lack the voice or ability to articulate their needs and influence health care policies,” Williams said. “UMSL enabled me to go even further with association management. What started for me as a nursing student allowed me to transition into health advocacy as a professional nurse.”

Williams initially joined NSNA as a volunteer leader, then wound up running for national office and becoming president of the organization during her time at UMSL. She thoroughly enjoyed the work, which offered her opportunities to advocate for student nurses across the country and abroad, including a trip to South Africa for the International Council of Nurses conference.

“It allowed me to be the voice of nursing students and the future of nursing at a level that so far surpassed anything that any traditional nursing student could do,” she said.

After UMSL, Williams worked as a nurse while continuing to stay involved with NSNA, as well as the National Black Nurses Association and American Nurses Association. She also continued her education, earning her MSN in health systems management from the University of Virginia, which she credits with helping her ascend to various leadership roles around St. Louis, including as cardiology and respiratory care service line director at Barnes-Jewish St. Peters Hospital and Progress West Hospital in O’Fallon, Missouri.

She then joined NSNA in a larger capacity as president of the organization’s foundation before moving her family from Florissant, Missouri, to New York to join the organization full time as director of governance and policy in 2016.

In order to set herself up for success in her new role, Williams went on to earn a Doctor of Education in interdisciplinary leadership at Creighton University, which exposed her to new ways of thinking about health care.

After a few years working in governance, Williams’ role with NSNA transitioned to deputy executive director and, eventually, executive director. In April of this year, she became the organization’s CEO. No two days are exactly the same, from working with lawyers on contracts to planning conventions to mentoring future nurse leaders on the organization’s board of directors.

“I consider NSNA a practicum in leadership,” she said. “We are an organization that’s truly centered around embracing nursing leadership, as well as formulating policies that we send up to the White House, to ensure that our future colleagues understand the importance of advocacy, leadership, patient-first care and how we can assist them. We focus on how they can best be a leader, whatever that looks like for them. Every nurse is a leader, regardless if they’re at the bedside or if they’re in the boardroom, and we teach them how to be the best leader that they can be. If they want to ascend to different leadership roles, we can give them the tools and assets in order for them to do so.”

After nearly 20 years of working with NSNA in different capacities, it’s a full circle moment for Williams, who will also be inducted into the American Academy of Nursing in November. She’s had plenty of rewarding moments over the years, from passing a gun safety violence resolution to collaborating with nursing colleagues across the globe at the International Council of Nurses conference every other year. At the end of the day, though, it doesn’t get better than watching new nursing leaders emerge and helping them thrive in their respective roles.

“I am unique in this respect, as my board turns over every year, so every year I have a new board that I’m orienting, watching a new president come in, being able to mentor them and watching them blossom throughout the year into this amazing, incredible leader,” she said. “We have presidents who run national organizations, who have sat on different White House councils, who have done some amazing things. Knowing that they got a segment of those leadership skills from us, it’s a beautiful thing to watch.”