NASHVILLE, Tenn. Throughout her life, the Rev. Neely Williams’ primary focus has always been community.
“I was always active in civic concerns and social justice,” she recalled. “From as far back as my high school days, that’s the path I took in life.”
Her background is a lineup of public service groups and efforts, centered on a variety of social issues. Since 1997, she’s worked with the First Response Wellness Center of the Metropolitan Interdenominational Church, the Imani Coalition, UJIMA House, the Interdenominational Ministers’ Fellowship Peniel Initiative and the Obesity Observational Research Initiative.
“Wherever there was presented a need, I wanted to be a part of making it happen,” she said.
Neely currently serves as Assistant Pastor of the Community at New Unity Church. Her journey to becoming a minister began in 1990 when she returned to school at American Baptist College. She graduated in 1994, then enrolled at Vanderbilt University and completed a unit of CPE and chaplaincy training. She finished four years later, then in 2000, she entered a year-long institute certification program focused on program design implementation and evaluation for non-profit organizations with the South Carolina School of Public Health and the Center for Disease Control (CDC).
During that time, she served as the Program Director and Coordinator of the First Response Wellness Center of the Metropolitan Interdenominational Church in Nashville. “That served as a launching pad and hub for work I’ve done with the CDC, Health and Human Services, the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Agency, the National Institute of Health and the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI),” Neely explained. “I work with national and local agencies dealing with HIV/AIDS, substance abuse, domestic violence, victim crime services and youth violence prevention.”
Neely’s efforts first intersected with the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance while she worked on an advisory board for the Clinical and Translational Science Award (CTSA) grant. The grant sought to promote educational and research activities that would enhance the “translation” of basic research findings into clinics and, ultimately, back to patients and the overall community in terms of prevention and best practice management of disease.
“The MVA served a supportive role for me,” Neely said.
There are multiple components to the grant, including education, the development of optimal therapeutics, informatics, biostatistics, industry relations, design and evaluation methods, research ethics, community engagement and novel clinical and translational methodologies. Neely’s efforts revolve around an obesity study for the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network – an initiative of PCORI – which is set to launch Jan. 1. She serves as a community principle investigator.
“I’ve always had great hope for the Alliance and what they were doing,” Neely said. “I saw the need for a bridge between Vanderbilt University and Meharry Medical College, based on the work I was doing, and I was grateful to see that happen.”
About the Meharry-Vanderbilt Alliance
Founded in 1999, the Alliance bridges the institutions of Meharry Medical College and Vanderbilt University. Its mission is to enrich learning and advance clinical research by developing and supporting mutually beneficial partnerships between Meharry Medical College, Vanderbilt University and the communities they serve.
