Dr. Tameka Vaught Williams is the Director of Staff Investment and Curiosity for Justice System Partners. She has over 15 years of experience working in higher education and the criminal and juvenile systems. Tameka began her career as an adult probation officer and later transitioned to a juvenile court counselor. In both positions, she provided high-quality case management and oversight to court-involved adults and youth. Later in her career, she shifted to the quality assurance aspect of public safety and was responsible for implementing, supervising, and evaluating community and evidence-based programs.

Before joining JSP, Tameka was a Clinical Assistant Professor at North Carolina Central University. In this role, she taught numerous criminal justice courses and served as the Director of Student Support. She is well-versed in curriculum development, student coaching, and delivering instruction in both online and face-to-face modalities. During her tenure at NCCU, she founded J.E.W.E.L.S., a gender-specific non-profit organization that develops the next generation of women leaders in criminal and social justice fields.

Tameka is a two-time alumna of North Carolina Central University (NCCU). She was awarded dual bachelor’s degrees in Political Science and Criminal Justice and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice. She received her Ph.D. in Leadership Studies from North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. Tameka’s written work and research interests focus on student professional development, correctional managers’ leadership development, barbershops and beauty salons as community anchors, the criminalization of minority youth, and the barriers to leadership for Black women in the workplace.

Her life’s work focuses on making systemic and structural changes in the criminal justice system through leadership, advocacy, research, and teaching.