Williams to be guest speaker at veterans mental health symposium

A Lawton woman who is president of the first local chartered Women Veterans Chapter will be a keynote speaker at the Veterans Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Symposium Thursday in Norman.

Una Lisa Williams, Army veteran sergeant, serial entrepreneur and life-navigating coach, said the goal of the seminar is to address critical issues surrounding the mental health of veterans, to include suicide prevention techniques. Her lecture, to begin at 1:55 p.m., will be Embracing Self-Care: Guarding Your Mind and Heart Promotes a Healthy Body.

Williams, a veteran who has worked with female and male veterans, said mental health is a critical issue for those who work with veterans, and one she has addressed with both individuals and groups. She said mental health is among the issues she is immersed in as president of the local Women Veterans Chapter.

That involvement allows her to help create connections with other women veterans across states, setting networking opportunity events, community outreach programs and mentorship to maintain a sense of camaraderie for women veterans.

But, Williams said she is an advocate for all veterans and military dependents, focusing on support services, assisting with benefits and working for safe, stable and affordable housing for homeless veterans.

President of the local Women Veterans Chapter since 2016, Williams was appointed as the first woman veteran commissioner at-large on the Mayor’s Commission on the Status of Women in October 2022. Other volunteer roles include chaplain of the Comanche County Veterans Council, committee member of the AUSA Family Soldier Family Council, and contributions to the Governor’s and Mayor’s Challenge for the prevention of veteran and military suicides. She has served as a mentor for the Lawton Business Women, Lawton-Fort Sill NAACP Legal Redress Chair and Youth Advisor.

Her awards include recognition for leadership during the Cameron University 2023 Empowering Women in Leadership and STEM Conference, where she also served as a panel member; Eisenhower Elementary-Generals Black History Month Honoree; Women Of Color Expo-Military Leadership of the Year; and the first recipient of the Oklahoma Woman Veteran of the Year award from the Lawton-Fort Sill area.

A first-generation college graduate, Williams earned a bachelor of science degree in organizational leadership-communications and criminal justice-law enforcement, and an associate degree in criminal justice-corrections from Cameron University. She is a member of the Cameron Criminal Justice Alumni, a Lifetime Golden Criminal Justice National Honor Society Alumni member, and Lifetime Alumni member of Cameron. She is a graduate of the National Women Veterans Igniting the Spirit of Entrepreneurship, SBA Boots to Business, Introduction to Entrepreneurship, and the Lawton Police Department Citizen Academy. She is trained, certified, and specialized in leadership, intervention, suicide prevention, mediation, investigations and security.

Williams, the author of “Predestined to Soar: Rise to See Who You Were Meant to Be,” is an inspirational speaker and also works as a substitute teacher. She is the mother of a son, Matthew T.