ABOUT KHALIF WILLIAMS....

Yesterday I introduced you to our good friend Khalif who built the bath house of the year.

Some have asked for more information about him. He is the Executive Director of the Institute of Humane Education and below, you can read his own words.
(This is expecially for you Frank)

"I want to inspire people to celebrate, rather than resent, the fact that we are ultimately accountable to one another, the earth and other species for creating good. The way toward creating a better world is certainly complicated, confusing and filled with conflicting concerns. For many, considering all this can bring guilt, frustration, fear, fatigue. But I have found deep, abiding joy and purpose in my attempts to fully actualize this role. Helping others discover this way is an addictive activity, I must say. I believe, in the end, our work may turn out to have been quite simple: to simultaneously embrace and challenge humanity with every step we take.

Since my early years of college, I have steered my professional life toward making the world better, and I have been lucky enough along the road to find incredible opportunities to do just that. I’m a grateful student of humane education who wants to spread what has so deeply benefited my life and fueled my dedication to creating a humane world. Humane education continues to guide my life every day and I'm deeply grateful to have made it my profession.

My greatest passion is helping cultivate a humane movement and community. I love partnering with our staff, students, graduates, financial supporters, and others in creating the kind of society we all envision. My work as an executive director is about creating the right combination of meaningful relationships and focused attention on the goals at hand. The engine that drives IHE is only as powerful as the web of humanity that holds it. That web is made up of the most incredible, compassionate, talented, and generous people I have ever known. The success of humane education will soon emerge from this vast and growing tribe.

My wife and I raise our two young sons in a tiny, self-built house without electricity or running water, but with lots of love, time, and joyful experiences. My family’s spiritual identity and lifestyle are guided by the tenets of voluntary simplicity, and our proudest accomplishments often include things like preparing locally grown meals made without packaged ingredients or taking a whole month to accumulate a single bag of garbage."

Khalif Williams joined IHE’s staff in 2002 as the Development and Operations Manager. In 2004 he became Executive Director and has been instrumental in leading IHE to its current success. Under his leadership, IHE’s programs have quadrupled in size, and its budget has more than doubled. Khalif has built IHE’s organizational structure to embrace cooperative, collaborative ideals and has attracted a growing staff of dedicated, experienced professionals from around the country.

In 1994, Khalif began working for racial equity in higher education by helping establish a minority mentoring/college preparatory program at his university that is still in successful operation. In 1996 he earned his B.A. in Philosophy from Roger Williams University. He has served as a highly respected counselor and crisis interventionist at a residential treatment facility for mentally ill, emotionally disturbed adolescent boys, and also spent several years working for an urban homeless/runaway shelter for teens, which provided care for more than 300 young people a year.

In 2000, Khalif founded Earthlings, Inc., a farmed animal advocacy organization. Through Earthlings, Khalif provided the only farmed animal rescue and placement services in his region. He served as a consultant on farmed animal issues to local humane societies and assisted with farmed animal rescues and investigations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and New York. Through Earthlings, Khalif developed and conducted dozens of highly successful humane education programs for both adults and children.

Khalif’s expanding view of humane issues and deepening dedication to education drew him to an IHE workshop in 2001. He was so inspired by IHE’s philosophy and approach, he decided to make humane education his life’s work.