Terrie is a social worker by training. She is a public relations professional by her own
design. She is a published author, a sought-after lecturer, a dealmaker, a mentor, an
executive coach, a community activist. But first and foremost Terrie Williams is a people
person-one who cares about other folks and one who passionately believes that we are here
on the planet to hold each other up.
Terrie Williams is a success story-one built on the foundation of the countless friends,
contacts, mentors and business associates that have helped her rise to the pinnacle of her
profession. "I have been blessed," Terrie says. "And I know that the best way to say thank
you to all those who have done so much for me is to give something back and pass it on to
those who will follow us."
When Terrie opened the doors of her Agency in 1988 it wasn't as much the launch of an
entrepreneurial genius as it was a way for Terrie to use her expertise as a social worker
and a people person to help others help themselves (and others). "I knew I had to have my
own business. It was in my blood. Public relations-or people relations as I call it-seemed
a natural progression."
Over the years Terrie's Agency has handled the biggest names in entertainment, sports,
business and politics. And today the Agency is considered one of the country's premiere
public relations and communications firms.
In September 1994 Warner Books published Terrie's The Personal Touch: What You Really
Need to Succeed in Today's Fast-Paced Business World. The best-selling book on developing
business practices is now in paperback and includes a foreword by Bill Cosby and a preface
by Jonathan M. Tisch, the president and CEO of Loews Hotels.
The Personal Touch has been used as a guide at business workshops, lectures and
corporate success courses given across the country. Terrie is currently working on a
version of The Personal Touch for teenagers tentatively titled Stay Strong: Life Lessons
for Teens that will be published by Scholastic in the Spring of 2001.
She is also writing an inspirational, self-help book called A Plentiful Harvest:
Creating Balance and Harmony Through Seven Living Virtues due out in 2001 by Warner Books.
And she is working on yet another project-a motivational, personal advancement book that
will offer insightful tools for self-promotion-with Joe Cooney, the co-author of The
Personal Touch.
Companies and organizations also have realized the need for new marketing strategies,
and the likes of Revlon, The National Basketball Association, The National Hockey League
and Nickelodeon have sought out Terrie to provide them with the proper tools to promote
their programs, and the keys to understanding, acceptance and success in a multicultural
market.
Terrie is also one of the country's most highly sought-after speakers, and has shared
her own brand of success and personal development strategies with numerous Fortune 500
companies, and organizations such as New York University's Continuing Education Program,
the New School for Social Research, and The National Hockey League, The National Basketball
Association and The National Football League.
A licensed social worker, Terrie also counsels professional athletes, at-risk youth and
non-profit organizations that work with young adults and children (see below). She also
devotes a good portion of her professional life to assisting individuals who want to pursue
a career in public relations and communications.
One of Terrie's favorite phrases is: "There Are No Other People's Children." The
children-our children-are our future, Terrie believes. And that's why she devotes as much
time as she can to young people-all in an effort to help them realize their dreams and
their potential.
One of Terrie's nearest and dearest volunteer efforts is working with the young men
from New York City's Kaplan House. The residential facility offers troubled young men
support programs and a variety of services to help them lead productive lives. Terrie
often drops by Kaplan House with celebrities or pro athletes who take the time to talk with
the kids about persevering and overcoming challenges. She also takes some of them to
high-profile events and family functions so they can experience new opportunities and
aspire to greater heights.
Kaplan House is a program of the Jewish Board of Family and Children's Services. For
more information go to www.jbfcs.org.
Terrie has shared her time, talent and resources with a number of other charitable and
civic organizations-all in her continuing effort to help others be the best they can be.
Terrie has volunteered for: The YWCA; Big Brothers/Big Sisters of America; RYSE (Reaching
Youth through Saturday Education), a program developed by First Choice Group that
supplements the traditional education of inner city youths ages 11-13; and Public Allies
New York, an organization that builds strong community leadership among young adults
through full-time professional apprenticeships in nonprofit organizations, leadership
training, and team service.
Terrie's success story has been featured in numerous publications, including The
Washington Post, The Boston Globe, Crain's New York Business, The New York Daily News,
and People, ESSENCE and Adweek magazines. Awards and honors she has received include:
The New York Women in Communications Matrix Award in Public Relations (she is the first
and only woman of color to be so honored in the 31-year history of the award); the PRSA
New York Chapter's Phillip Dorf Mentoring Award; and The Citizen's Committee for the New
York Marietta Tree Award for Public Service.
In 1998 Terrie donated a collection of her business and personal papers to Howard
University's Moorland-Spingarn Research Center, the center's first gift of material
specific to the public relations field. The center is the world's largest, most
comprehensive repository of information and materials about and by people of African
descent. It houses the works of such legendary figures as Phyllis Wheatley, Frederick
Douglass, W.E.B. DuBois, Alice Walker, James Baldwin and Toni Morrison.
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