Dr. Cheryl Williams is the Gender and Social Development Specialist for the Smallholder Agriculture Transformation and Agribusiness Revitalization Project (STAR-P) at the Ministry of Agriculture, Republic of Liberia. She established and headed the Gender and Social Development Unit at the Ministry for nine years, and contributed to numerous agriculture research projects, policy discussions, and advocacy on gender equality, economic empowerment, national food security and nutrition. Her research focus areas range from gender inequality in land tenure security for small-scale farmers to gendered differences in training for the reduction of post-harvest loss of cassava, and evaluation of sexual gender-based violence programs in Liberia.
She holds a PhD in Agricultural Communications and Education with a focus on Global Food Security from the Texas Tech University, Lubbock, Texas, USA, a Master of Arts Degree in Development Studies from the Institute of Statistical, Social and Economic Research, University of Ghana, Legon and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of Liberia. As an African Women in Agricultural Research and Development (AWARD) Fellow and a BORLAUG Scholar, Williams aspires to mentor younger female scientists to enable them to achieve their career goals and aspirations and contribute to agricultural research and development in Liberia and beyond. [email protected]
