Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Joe Williams is a graduate of the Houston High School for the Performing and Visual Arts (HSPVA) where he played lead trumpet in the performance jazz band. Growing up in the Southside of Houston, HSPVA was a totally different world for him with the amount of racial, cultural, and socio-economic diversity amongst the students, teachers, and administration. During his time at HSPVA, in addition to increasing his love for music and the arts, Joe also found that he had a knack for mathematics. He went on to attend college at the University of Houston (U of H) having received a scholarship for Applied Mathematics.
While attending classes at U of H, Joe worked as a part-time teller for a local credit union. He would help some of his fellow tellers with some of the issues they would have with their computers and printers. Understanding the systems and technology being used there at the credit union came naturally to him. He was then asked to split his then part-time schedule between being a teller and working in the IT/MIS department. It was this opportunity that led to him identifying a career path for himself in IT and in the credit union industry.
Over the past 26 years working in IT and the credit union industry, 20 of those years have been executive-level positions. Joe has served as the Assistant Vice President of Technology for People’s Trust Credit Union in Houston, TX, Vice President of Data Center Operations for US Federal Credit Union in St Paul, MN, Vice President of Technology for HEB Credit Union, and Vice President of Technology for Goodwill Industries both in San Antonio where he and his family now call home. Joe has been a part of the management team of Credit Human Credit Union for the last six years as the Technology Solutions Manager. At the age of 46, Joe has barely scratched the surface of the professional accomplishments he will achieve and has recently enrolled at Morehouse College where he is currently a Junior working to complete his undergraduate degree online.
When presented the opportunity to dance in RWTS he jumped at the opportunity to be a part of this effort to give back and invest in the community here in San Antonio. Joe’s wife, Yolanda, and two teenage daughters, Kayla and Victoria, are also very excited to see him take on this challenge and to see him light up the dance floor.