Zebi Williams

Zebi Williams

Founder / Education Designer

location of Zebi WilliamsKITES NEST INC

Connect with Zebi Williams to Send Message

Connect

Connect with Zebi Williams to Send Message

Connect
  • Timeline

  • About me

    Capacity Building Consultant + Design Strategist

  • Education

    • 20/20Shift

      2016 -
      UX Design Certificate

      UX Design Immersive Program

    • SUNY New Paltz

      2001 - 2005
      BA Applied Anthropology Sustainable Development Cum Laude

      Activities and Societies: Womens Basketball (All Conference Honors) // WNPC TV Field Camera

    • General Assembly

      2016 -

      Agile + ScrumBiz MetricsLean Product ManagementData Visualization (Tableau)

    • Mount Holyoke College

      -
      BA Applied Anthropology Cultural Anthropology Honor Roll

      Activities and Societies: Womens Basketball Player - All Conference Honors /// MHCASA Member /// Radio Station DJ

    • Node Center for Curatorial Studies

      2023 -
      Interactive Exhibition Design: New Technologies
    • New York Studio School

      2023 -
      Sculpture and Casting
    • University of Washington

      2023 - 2024
      Museology/Museum Studies
  • Experience

    • Lil Raggamuffin Summer Camp

      Aug 2002 - Aug 2015
      Founder / Education Designer

      Founder of the longest-running art program in Jamaica Blue Mountains. Raised $150,000 in funding for summer camp programming, site construction and staffingProduced organizational vision documents, sponsorship decks, press kits and annual reportsDesigned websites, produced 8 segment web series, managed social media content deliverables, Handled communications between planning committees, board members, donors and supportersSupervised, recruited and trained over 75 volunteer educators and administratorsManaged international logistics in the areas of transportation, housing, food, registration, financing, fundraising, programming, supply management and community relationsDeveloped curriculum scope + sequence for students ages 5 - 18 years old. Facilitated professional development training for educators Show less

    • Born As A Raggamuffin

      Jun 2004 - Mar 2015
      Fashion Designer

      Featured as the youngest Fashion Designer to showcase at Caribbean Fashion Week Researched trends, sourced material, created new products and merchandized collectionsManaged retail location - (Artemis Boutique 2004-2006) and online storeShipped orders, organized stock and reconciled invoicesExecuted media campaign, designed branding materialsProduced fashion shows and photo shootsTaught fashion workshops at Brooklyn Museum, Manhattan Youth and St. Maarten Arts CampPublished a Youth Entrepreneurship Guide for St. Maarten Chamber of Commerce Show less

    • Good Old Lower East Side, Inc. (GOLES)

      Jan 2009 - Jun 2011
      Small Biz Program Manager

      Partnered with the office of Senator Nydia Velazquez to support local entrepreneurs in the Lower East SideOrganized with community partners throughout New York City to campaign for the Living Wage ActAssisted formerly incarcerated residents with job training and workforce referralsHosted financial literacy and credit repair workshop for public housing residentsHelped elderly residents with tax filings and accessing of benefitsAuthored a series of resource pamphlets for folks in the Lower East Side titled "life hacks" on subjcects such as: "job search tips", "healthy eating on a budget", "ways to create side income" Show less

    • RWDSU International Union

      Jan 2009 - Jun 2011
      Workforce Program Manager

      Pioneered a new approach to worker outreach in the union through "skill training workshops". (service to organizing model) Lead job readiness workshops and developed a certificate training program with LaGuardia College. Conducted one-on-one sessions with job seekers, managing a caseload of over 200 clientsManaged files, processed paperwork, and accurately entered client data into Outcomes databaseConducted quarterly meetings and audits with government contract supervisorsDesigned recruitment flyers, service pamphlets, employer outreach materials and evaluation forms Show less

    • Self/Freelance

      Mar 2014 - May 2018
      UX Research + Design Consultant

      www.zebiwilliams.com Design the user experience flow for mobile and web. Specialize in creating lead generating websites and habit forming platforms using data driven design decisions.Clients have included SAAS, E-Commerce, Media Outlets and StartUps. I represent the voice of the user to engineering and management teams through survey design,ethnographic research, usability test, card sorts, affinity mapping and more.Provide both short-and long-term web strategy for clients

    • Manhattan Youth

      Jun 2016 - Dec 2016

      Built the Community Service Program for Large Non Profit OrganizationRecruited, trained and supervised high school interns throughout the NYC Metro areaProduced fundraiser events - managing vendor accounts, budget, publicity and staffingDesigned curriculum and lead afterschool classes for Middle School studentsDeveloped an annual budget and operating plan to support the programCollected Data, Analyzed Feedback and Designed Infographics to communicate to larger audience Manage the user research process for re-design of company website focusing on search, navigation and informational architectureSupport design of external and internal branded materialEdit, catalog and update design templates Assist with special marketing projects such as creation of banners, photo exhibit installations, and fundraiser event materials

      • Director of Community Programs

        Sept 2013 - Dec 2016
      • UX Researcher

        Jun 2016 - Jul 2016
    • KITES NEST INC

      Jan 2017 - now

      A center for liberatory education in Hudson, NY. We seek to build the collective capacity of young people to bring about personal transformation, social connection, healing, and systemic change. We create youth-centered spaces of radical imagination and creativity, and support youth-led movements for equity and justice. Our programs engage experiential education, the arts, meaningful job training, and civic action as tools for building community power.My education methodology emphasizes teaching to different learning styles, creating platforms for both indigenous and western-based knowledge systems, celebrating teachable moments, redesigning community approaches to conflict resolution, and promoting community rituals to help ground children in local stewardship at every age.As a team leader and systems thinker I am exploring fractal organization systems as a way of creating resilient and responsive programming structures. Sample Classes I've Designed Include: - Data Worlds- Detective Arts- Empires + Entropy - Language + Resilience [ Linguistics, Etymology and Cross Cultural Exchange]- Analog Game Design - Analog Game Designs and Interactive Story Telling- Bricks, Buttons + Banks - [Industrialization, Migration and Capitalism in America]- Exploratorium [Art installation learning lab for 5-7 year olds]- Found Art Jewelry Design - Puppetry - The Last Picture Show [Sociology and American Films] - How Stuff Works [ Makers Space]- Science Fiction Writing Club - Bio-Mimicry + Baby Dragons [Exploration of Bio-Mimicry and Bio-Fuel Inventions] Show less

      • Capacity Building Consultant + Design Strategist

        Jan 2024 - now
      • Chief Program Director

        Jan 2017 - Dec 2023
    • Raising Places - Greater Good Studios

      Sept 2017 - May 2018
      Research Designer

      Raising Places catalyzes local momentum for cross-sector collaboration, engaging diverse partners to build healthier communities where all children and their families can thrive. Through Raising Places, Greater Good Studio will offer a catalytic process—bringing together diverse stakeholders in communities primed to move from ideas to action and to create long-term, sustainable change. Through this process, communities will explore both symptoms and root causes of local challenges, identify leverage points, and create tangible solutions that address these challenges at different levels and types of impact. The specific outcomes of our work together will vary in each community, based on the local interpretation of “healthy, child-centered community” and the challenges we want to prioritize. Show less

  • Licenses & Certifications

    • Restorative Justice Certificate

      The Restorative Center
      Jan 2018
    • Social Justice Leadership Certificate

      Https://sojustlead.org/
      Jan 2011
    • Film Production Certificate

      Corcoran School of The Arts
      May 2002
    • Wilderness/Remote Location First Aid

      SOLO
      May 2019
    • CPR + First Aid

      Red Cross Blood Services
      View certificate certificate
    • Adobe Photoshop + Illustrator + InDesign

      Lynda.com
  • Honors & Awards

    • Awarded to Zebi Williams
      Elias Activist Fellowship Elias Foundation Mar 2023
    • Awarded to Zebi Williams
      Winner - Startup Institute Hackathon StartUp Institute Aug 2016 CHATBOT (UX)Designed, programmed and pitched a ChatBot that would disrupt gentrification. Building on the conversational economy to help users support and track their spending in their local communities
  • Volunteer Experience

    • Founding Member - Workshop Chairperson

      Issued by SISTA-2-SISTA YOUTH SUMMIT on Jan 2007
      SISTA-2-SISTA YOUTH SUMMITAssociated with Zebi Williams
    • Planning Committee

      Issued by A TEA TAKEOVER on Dec 2012
      A TEA TAKEOVERAssociated with Zebi Williams