A licensed psychologist and Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at USC Keck School of Medicine, Dr. Williams is the Program Area Lead for the Early Childhood Mental Health Programs in the USC University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities (USC UCEDD) at Children's Hospital Los Angeles. She also serves as Autism Training Coordinator for the HRSA-funded Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities (LEND) interdisciplinary training program, funded through the Combating Autism Act. Dr. Williams developed and runs interdisciplinary clinics to assess autism spectrum disorders and to train interdisciplinary professionals. Current research projects include access to care and assessment and diagnosis of children with autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities, evaluating the effectiveness of novel interventions for autism spectrum disorders, diagnosis of autism in children with vision impairments, and autism in underserved minority communities. Her recent article in the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disabilities focused on discrepancies in the use of best practices in the assessment of autism of low-income Latino children in community settings.
Current Roles
• Assistant Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine, USC, 2006-present
• Program Area Lead, Early Childhood Mental Health Programs, USC UCEDD at CHLA, 2003 - 2006, 2007 - present
• Autism Training Coordinator, LEND Program at USC UCEDD at CHLA, 2008 - present
• Co-Principal Investigator: Autism in Urban Context: Linking Heterogeneity with Health and Service Disparities (NIH Grant; PI: Solomon)
• Evidence-Based Practice Coordinator: Expanding Cross Cultural and Evidence-Based Competencies in Interdisciplinary Psychology Training (HRSA GPE grant; PI: Sherer)
• Psychologist: MET Signaling System, Autism, and Gastrointestinal Dysfunction (NIH Grant; PI: Levitt)
Education
• PhD, Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, 1990
• BA, Williams College, Williamstown, MA, 1982
Areas of Interest
• Assessment and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorders
• Access to care for individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities
• Interdisciplinary training
• Infant mental health services and training
• Dissemination of evidence-based practices in psychology
