opinion
DO NOT LOOK AWAY
This week marks an anniversary for the Flint water crisis. Before a special screening of the documentary “Flint,” the city’s former mayor explains why we must remember.
Dr. Weaver was born and raised in Flint, Michigan. She is the youngest of three children born to Dr. T. Wendell Williams, a pediatrician, and Marion Coates- Williams, the first African- American teacher in the Flint public school system. She attended Flint public schools and graduated from Flint Northern High School, where she was in the National Honor Society and active is the school orchestra and Psychology Club. After graduation, she attended University of Michigan-Flint before transferring to Tougaloo College in Tougaloo, Mississippi, where she graduated with her Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in Psychology.
Always a strong academic, she went on to obtain a Master of Arts (MA) degree in Applied Psychology from Long Island University in Brooklyn, NY, followed by a Ph.D. in Child and Family Clinical Psychology from Michigan State University with a specialization in pediatric psychology.
Dr. Karen Williams Weaver served as the first female Mayor of the City of Flint from November 2015 until November 2019. While serving as Flint’s mayor, she was 2nd Vice President of the African American Mayors Association and on the Advisory Board of the US Conference of Mayors. In December 2019, U.S. presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg selected her to be a surrogate for his campaign, as did presidential candidate Hillary Clinton in 2016.
To continue her commitment and passion for community and economic justice for black and brown residents and underserved populations, she created the Karen Williams Weaver Foundation (KWWF). KWWF is a national voice of advocacy for communities to garner resources necessary to rebuild infrastructure in a way that protects health, creates economic opportunities and safeguards the fundamental right to safe and affordable water.
Professionally, Dr. Karen Williams Weaver has held several leadership positions, including Director of Behavioral Services at Mott Children’s Health Center and Chief Operating Officer (COO) of Ennis Center for Children. She is also an entrepreneur and owner of Shea Lavelle Boutique a specialty store for natural skin, hair and body products.