Josephine Williamson celebrated as influential leader

EECS director of operations Josephine Williamson is one of 18 unsung heroines at UC Berkeley being honored this month as part of the Berkeley 150W project. Williamson, whom Vice Provost Tsu-Jae King Liu describes as “an exemplary builder of positive working relationships,” knows the department inside and out. She began her relationship with EECS as an undergraduate workstudy, helping students, faculty, staff and visitors, behind the Soda Hall front desk. After graduating and exploring some other career options, she returned to campus as the manager of budget and planning in the College of Engineering, and was hired away two years later to serve as EECS’s manager of financial services. She has been in her current position as director of operations for almost ten years, and was recognized for her leadership skills with a Chancellor’s Outstanding Staff Award (COSA) in 2017, the Berkeley Chancellor’s highest staff honor. Williamson is treasured by her staff as a compassionate and positive leader who has created a supportive, nurturing work environment that has remained strong even during difficult times. She has taken steps to make the department more welcoming to a greater diversity of people, and has created a more open, convivial, and respectful culture for everyone. “During my years at Cal, I learned that it is not only important to recognize our strengths, but also to seek out areas where we need to change and further develop,” she says. “It’s important to create a safe place for people to share stories, listen and reflect in order to come together as a team.”