Malcolm V. Williams is research department director for RAND’s Behavioral and Policy Sciences department; director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and professor of policy analysis at the Pardee RAND Graduate School; and a senior policy researcher at the RAND Corporation. His background is in health services research including access to care, disparities in health and health care, and community resilience to disasters. He has extensive experience developing and assessing community-based projects addressing population health and health equity. He currently leads an evaluation of the social networks developed to support the Million Hearts initiative which is a CDC/CMS funded initiative focusing on cardiovascular disease prevention. He is also leading an evaluation of the Healthiest Cities and Counties Challenge of the Aetna Foundation which is seeding multi-sectoral partnerships to address health and health equity issues in 50 communities across the country. He recently co-led an NIH-funded study bringing together a partnership of over 60 churches in South Los Angeles, CA, with the Los Angeles Department of Public Health and various community-based health organizations.

At Pardee RAND, Williams is the director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion and also leads the school’s Social Justice and Racial Equity thread, one of four themes that are woven throughout the fabric of the academic program.

Williams received his Ph.D. in health policy from Harvard University, and his M.P.P. from Georgetown University’s McCourt School of Public Policy.