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Kyla Williams

Kyla Williams has worked in the field of social services for over 12 years and has experience in the areas of child welfare, training and development, recruitment, counseling, community based services, and recreation and wellness programming. Kyla is devoted to legislative advocacy on behalf of children and youth and is an active member of the Illinois Council on Youth. As a skilled grant writer, she has secured over seven million dollars in funding from all levels of funding sources. Kyla has volunteered in schools, hospitals and with other civic organizations in an effort to strengthen communities and their resources. She also serves as instructor to both youth and adults for several exercise courses, including Cardio Salsa and Hip Hop Yoga within the Chicagoland area.   Kyla was recruited by the State of Arizona to develop a foster parent recruitment model for African American and American Indian families, which is still being utilized. She has developed several training curriculums including, The Passion Perspective, which teaches employees how to ensure their work environment reflects professional and personal interests. Other trainings consist of foster grand parenting, homeless youth participation (Circle of Life), cultural and gender specific interventions for juveniles involved in the justice system and using exercise to modify behavior in emotional and behavioral-challenged children (Heartbeats). Kylas latest training entitled, Infusion seeks to promote a model where evidenced-based juvenile delinquency interventions are used in combination with child welfare case management responsibilities as an effort to deter youth from being participants in both systems.  Presently, Kyla is the Division Manager for Comprehensive Services at Aunt Marthas Youth Service Center. In this role, she is responsible for the managerial operations of services to atrisk youth and families in Grundy, Iroquois, Kane, Kankakee, Kendall, South Suburban Cook, Vermillion and Will Counties in Illinois with a budget well over five million dollars. She serves on the Board of Directors for Prevent Child Abuse Illinois and is an active member of the American Mental Health and Counselors Association (AMHCA) and American Psychological Association (APA).