Jonnie Williams

Jonnie Williams grew up surrounded by artists and healers from whom she “inherited the gift of brainstorming” and a desire to create new things. She is an enrolled member of the Navajo Nation (Bitterwater clan) and says, “My indigenous worldview informs everything that I do personally and professionally. I am a mother of two and my vision is to advance racial equity and healing in this world, so that they can thrive in a world free of radicalized trauma.” With these values in mind, she started considering entrepreneurship in 2021 and eventually opened her private consulting practice, Evolve Equity, where she merges “psychological scientific practices with indigenous worldview, to advance health/racial equity work within organizations and communities”.

Jonnie heard about WEV through some mom friends as well as fellow-WEV client, Tinkle Belle Diaper Service, “I remember being at an event and thought it was so cool that she was there handing out her business card and sharing with others about her values and why she is doing what she does…I was impressed by the idea of someone turning their values for making change in the world, as their job.”  

Jonnie “dared to dream” when she joined WEV’s Explore course: “…that was a huge step for me. It was very uncomfortable at first, and my instructor provided such warm encouragement and coaching of my many different ideas.” She then decided to sign up for WEV’s consulting program, Thrive. “My greatest success has been reaching all my business goals in a relatively short amount of time (as my WEV coaches have told me). I have secured clients, incorporated as a psychology corporation, and achieved independence in my professional identity,” she said.  

Facing imposter syndrome, as well as gender-based and racial discrimination, Jonnie has pushed forward with her business “I am now at the phase where I need to learn new skills to manage all my current projects and develop scaling methods. I am working on paperwork for hiring my first two employees.” She has goals of expanding to a state or federal level and training others to help with these endeavors. She also hopes to pay it forward, stating, “I want to provide other indigenous youth the workforce development and paid internship opportunities that I did not have.”