Sep. 8, 2025
This is part of a series of Q&As introducing faculty who have joined the College of Health Sciences for the 2025–26 academic year. Meet all of our new faculty members.
Dee Yookong Williams
Assistant professor, School of Social Work
What classes are you teaching this semester?
This fall, I am looking forward to teaching master’s-level social work students in Trauma Informed Practice and Intervention, where we will explore the bio-psycho-social impacts of trauma, assessment, evidence-based interventions and best practices to support individuals who have experienced trauma.
Tell us about yourself. What is your background?
I am a licensed clinical social worker, scholar-artivist, and community-engaged researcher with a social work PhD from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. As a first-generation college student on my maternal side, I attended Towson University and received an art minor and my bachelor’s degree in family and human services. In 2015, I received my Master of Social Work degree from the University of Maryland-Baltimore.
Much of my direct practice experience extends over a decade in community organizing and clinical work, including treatment foster care, private practice, community-based outpatient mental health clinics and in the Baltimore City and Baltimore County public school systems. I developed a passion for culturally relevant, accessible mental health treatment with a focus on trauma, crisis intervention, suicide prevention (i.e., life promotion) and resiliency from a social-justice framework.
During my community-engaged mixed methods dissertation project, under the guidance of a steering committee of community members, I created the Transformational-Visual Intervention for Exposure With Suicide (Transformational-VIEWS), a visual arts-based group suicide postvention intervention to support a diverse group of youth who experienced a suicide loss. The youth art pieces and statements were featured in a community exhibit to spread awareness, honor their experiences and share resources to combat mental health and suicide-related stigma.
What brought you to Mizzou? To your field?
I gravitated toward Mizzou for many reasons, but I was especially excited to come here because of my exceptional colleagues and the intellectual prowess of folks here at the university and the community at large. As a community-engaged researcher, I was drawn to our land-grant university’s mission encompassing teaching, research and service to our state and beyond. As a clinician-scholar-artivist, these aspects of Mizzou in conjunction with the genuine care and compassion exuded by my colleagues drew me in, and I am excited to join the School of Social Work and greater community.
What is your favorite thing about your job?
Connecting with eager, compassionate, driven students and training the next generation of social workers is a major highlight of my job, as being community-centered is the heart and soul of my work.
What has you excited for this semester?
I’m looking forward to learning all about the traditions and celebrations here at Mizzou. I heard that Homecoming is especially exciting!
What is a fun hobby or activity that you enjoy outside of work?
Anywhere outdoors with my dog, Sandy, is usually my favorite place to be — whether we’re spelunking, rock climbing, cycling, trail running or backpacking in the wilderness somewhere, I love to immerse myself in nature. I find being outside, surrounded by natural beauty, helps to ground me and brings me great joy.
Share a memorable moment from your time teaching – something funny, touching, or just downright unforgettable!
I really enjoyed learning with the cohort of social work students I taught at my last institution, the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. We were wrapping up our final class of the Social Work Oppression and Resistance course, and we had a celebration with a potluck-style gathering as we shared insights and final reflection art projects from the semester. We took a silly photo together that I’ll be sure to hang in my new office here in Mizzou — the students always teach me new things as well, and when we can find levity and moments of celebration, it is always very heartwarming and inspiring.
What is your hidden talent?
I have a really keen eye for finding four-leaf clovers, even when I’m walking past and just glancing down. I love to collect them and give them to friends for some extra “luck.”
What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, and who gave it to you?
I am very fortunate to have such a supportive network of friends, family, and dear mentors, so narrowing this down is quite difficult. However, one of the first people that comes to my mind is my birth mother, who, in middle school once said to me: “You know who you are and what you stand for.” I carry this with me wherever I go, especially when I am met with difficult situations — so long as I can remember who I am, where I have come from and what I stand for, I will remain steadfast and determined despite the obstacles I may face. She is always full of sage advice and words of wisdom.
