Terrie M. Williams, one of Ebony magazine’s “Power 150” for Activism and Woman’s Day magazine “50 Women On A Mission To Change The World,” is an advocate for change and empowerment.

She launched The Terrie Williams Agency (www.terriewilliams.com/)in 1988 with superstar Eddie Murphy and the late jazz legend Miles Davis as her first clients.

As an author, Williams has written four successful books and countless articles. Her first book, The Personal Touch: What You Really Need to Succeed in Today's Fast-paced Business World (1994, Warner Books), is a perennial business bestseller. Her second book, Stay Strong: Simple Life Lessons for Teens (Scholastic, Inc., 2001), has been utilized in school curricula and was the catalyst to launch The Stay Strong Foundation, a national non-profit for youth. A Plentiful Harvest: Creating Balance and Harmony Through The Seven Living Virtues (Warner Books, 2002), is her undertaking to help others achieve balance in their daily lives. Terrie’s latest work, a book entitled Black Pain: It Just Looks Like We’re Not Hurting ( Scribner 2008) reveals her personal struggles with depression and the impact the stigma of this and other mental illnesses have particularly on the African-American community.

The public discourse generated by Williams’ book Black Pain and her Foundation’s creation of a national mental health advocacy campaign, “Healing Starts With Us,” led to a collaboration with Grey Worldwide, the volunteer advertising agency for the Ad Council’s and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Campaign for Mental Health Recovery.WEBSITE:http://www.thestaystrongfoundation.org/