A Saint John’s University graduate has been named one of the 2022 Most Admired CEOs by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal.
Paul Williams, the president and CEO of Project For Pride in Living – a Twin Cities-based nonprofit which works to provide affordable housing, career readiness services and financial counseling to lower income individual and families – is one of 10 honorees.
The group will be featured in a special publication due out Sept. 23. But prior to that, they will be honored at an awards ceremony scheduled for 5:30 to 8 p.m. on Sept. 22 at the Minneapolis Renaissance Hotel, The Depot in downtown Minneapolis.
According to the magazine, this year’s honorees have “faced the challenges of a global pandemic, supply-chain woes, labor shortages and more. They also are leaders in their industries and communities through board service and volunteerism.”
A St. Paul native, Williams served as deputy mayor in his hometown before joining PPL in April 2014. He has also served as a grant maker for the Minneapolis Foundation, The Saint Paul Foundation and the United Way of the St. Paul Area, as well as being part of the leadership on a number of community boards.
Williams is a 1984 graduate of SJU who majored in government (the forerunner to political science) and philosophy.
“It’s an honor to be recognized, especially with such a distinguished group of other community and business leaders,” Williams said. “This award is truly about our success here at Project for Pride in Living (PPL), which I have the privilege of leading.
“PPL has thrived as we continue to build affordable housing and provide skill-building and career pathways for adults and young people. It’s the people who surround me that deliver our results, particularly in the last couple of years, and I share the adulation with them as well as my alma mater.
“I’m grateful to Saint John’s for teaching me how to be a community builder.”
Paul Williams ’84