Robert B. Williams will become the new Executive Director of the Health District of Northern Larimer County April 11. He was appointed by the Health District Board of Directors in March.

Williams replaces founding Health District Executive Director Carol Plock who retired this month.

Williams has more than two decades of experience leading health, housing, and human services programs in local and state government. 

He served as the Executive Director of Boulder County’s Housing and Human Services Department; Chief Policy and Program Officer for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services’ Bureau of Behavioral Health; and Chief Accountability Officer for the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity.

In those positions, Williams was responsible for ensuring quality health and human services while maintaining a balanced budget and empowering people to make sound decisions about their well-being.

With masters training in social work and accountancy, Williams has a long-standing commitment to abused and neglected children and youth, and to families in need of support and assistance. His service in state and local government provided leadership and direction to child welfare and child protection programs; health and human service programs at the county level; and financial compliance oversight in the government setting.

At the Bureau of Behavioral Health in Illinois, Williams provided direction and leadership to all operations pertaining to program and policy development, as well as oversight of a $2.5-billion budget. He focused his role on implementing solutions to providing comprehensive behavioral health services and child protection to children, enhancing the behavioral health supports offered through Medicaid, and improving outcomes for children and youth through a multidisciplinary approach including public health and school-based interventions. Under his leadership, several government departments streamlined permanency achievement for transition-age youth in out of home care, connecting youth with housing and workforce development opportunities, which led to a decrease in youth homelessness after release from state guardianship.

Williams has a Master of Science in Social Work from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a Master of Science in Government Accountancy from Rutgers University, and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Government from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

“The Board of Directors is confident Robert Williams will be an Executive Director who has the vision and leadership skills to take the Health District into a new era enhancing the health of the community” said Michael Liggett, President of the Health District Board of Directors.

“We are grateful for Carol Plock’s many years of service to the community that have given the Health District a solid foundation upon which to build for the future,” Liggett added.