Dr. Shakenna K. Williams is the Executive Director of the Center for Women Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) and founder of the Black Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (BWEL) program at Babson College. She is an adjunct faculty member in Babson’s MBA Program, owns Kenna Business Solutions, and previously served as Deputy Academic Director and Lead Faculty Director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program.

With her passion to propel women entrepreneurs to new levels of success, Dr. Williams is the proud recipient of the Babson Entrepreneurial Thought and Action Award, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Changemaker Award, and the African American Female Professor of the Year Award. She authored The Mark (excerpt) and is writing her first book, Hooked: Entrepreneurial Leadership Skills Learned While Fishing with My Dad.

Dr. Williams received her doctorate from Capella University (dissertation, Talent Management and Retention in Small Family-Owned Businesses: A Multiple-Case Qualitative Study), her MBA from Oklahoma City University, and her B.S. (Finance; Investments) from Babson. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The Links, Incorporated, and the Academy of Management. Dr. Williams cherishes being a foster mom, and loves to travel, spend time with family, cook, and paint.