Shari C. Williams is the Director of Equitable Neighborhood Planning at Detroit Future City (DFC). Prior to assuming this new role, Shari served as Director of Community Engagement with DFC’s Center for Equity, Engagement, and Research where she designed and implemented community engagement strategies to ensure the inclusion of community voice in all DFC initiatives.

Shari has nearly 15 years of experience working in Detroit communities, leading grassroots community development programs and community engagement initiatives. Before joining DFC, Shari worked with Focus: HOPE as a family and community partnerships manager, where she facilitated collaborative relationships among parents, the community, and the organization. Her responsibilities also included developing parent leadership and managing the Parent Engagement Fund. Additionally, while at Focus: HOPE, Shari served as a neighborhood network site specialist, a community education outreach coordinator, and a community safety technology coordinator. Shari has also served as the bus campaign coordinator at Transportation Riders United, where she assisted with the organization’s annual Bus Campaign Report in 2012, leading the Bus Timeliness campaign, and developing its first customer service evaluation effort.

Shari has a master’s degree in urban planning from Wayne State University and a bachelor’s in interdisciplinary studies in social science specializing in economics and public policy from Michigan State University. While at Wayne State University, she co-founded the Black Student Association in Urban Studies and Planning, which aims to build a network of urban planners for minority students in the state of Michigan. Shari currently serves as Vice president of the Michigan Association of Planning.