Williamson, Deborah Barfield, JD
Deborah Barfield Williamson serves as executive director of the Southside Health Education Foundation, a regional resource for improving educational opportunities in the healthcare industry for individuals residing in the footprint of the Southside Regional Medical Center, located in Petersburg, Virginia. Her career in the nonprofit arena spans nearly 20 years, having served numerous nonprofit organizations at the national, state, and local levels in the roles of program manager, executive director, board member, consultant, and attorney. She supported efforts to found the Virginia Network of Nonprofit Organizations and served as the organization’s first executive director, assisting VANNO’s Board of Directors in building the organization’s infrastructure, staff capacity, and program impact. She continues to assist nonprofits and the professionals that serve them with issues related to board development, strategic planning, compliance and accountability, advocacy, and collaborative decision-making. As a nonprofit educator, she teaches courses in this program as well as at the University of Virginia’s School of Continuing and Professional Studies and the University of Richmond’s Institute on Philanthropy. Ms. Williamson holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Richmond School of Law, a Master in Public Administration degree, with a concentration in nonprofit management, from George Mason University, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in religion from the College of William and Mary.
