William’s path to Big Picture Learning started in his hometown of St. Louis, Missouri. After struggling for years in STL’s inequitable education landscape, he found transformative educators while studying International Human Rights at Webster University. For the first time, he felt agency over his own learning– something he wishes he’d had from the start.

He considers himself incredibly lucky now to be at BPL, where he can help give young people that same gift of agency, and the chance to break cycles of educational inequality.

William has 5 years of nonprofit experience, starting at Forward Through Ferguson in his hometown, where he helped support antiracist coalitions and amplify community voices through a Storytelling & Communications Fellowship. That led him to Montana, where he worked as a Major Gifts Officer with the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU-MT) and discovered that great, trust-based relationship building is the basis for great fundraising.

When he’s not at work, you’ll likely find William experimenting in the kitchen, planning his next travel adventure, behind the camera taking photos, or just hanging out with a book-in-hand and his cat, Tortilla at his side.