10 Questions for Michelle Williams of Arts Council Napa Valley

For the next four weeks, 10 Questions focuses on business people involved in local nonprofit agencies.

Michelle Williams has performed since she was five years old, when she danced in “The Nutcracker” for the first time.

“I was on stage, and my father, who is a symphony conductor, was conducting in the pit,” she said.

When she moved to Napa Valley in 2003, Williams made the transition to the administrative side of arts, eventually becoming the executive director of Arts Council Napa Valley.

“I saw the potential for the arts to build and connect a community,” Williams said. “That became my passion, rather than performing.” 

Born in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Napa is the 30th place Williams has lived.

“Having a family in the arts, we moved around the world,” she said. “I’ve lived here longer than I’ve lived any place else.”

Which three people would you most like to have dinner with?

Johann Sebastian Bach, writer Barbara Kingsolver, and my grandmother, Klea Worsley, who passed away 10 years ago.

What job would you like to try/not like to try?

I would love to try being a wilderness EMT. I became an EMT when I lived in New York City, but that was a different kind of wilderness.

I would not like to be a beekeeper. I love bees, and love what they do for the world, but I’m terrified of them. Which may be why I’m not a wilderness EMT.

What’s the worst job you ever had?

Cleaning the cages of feral captured dogs at a Humane Society in central Missouri. The dogs weren’t happy, and neither was I. I lasted one day.

Whom do you most admire in the business world?

Napan Harry Price. He’s one of the smartest and most creative people I know.

What is one thing you hope to accomplish in your lifetime that you haven’t yet?

Work in international disaster relief someday.

What’s something people might be surprised to know about you?

I’m a complete and total geek when it comes to anything related to J.R.R. Tolkien and “The Lord of the Rings.”

What’s one thing Napa could do to help local business?

Find a way to attract and retain the next generation of creative thinkers, and have affordable housing for them.

What was your childhood ambition?

To save the world. Or be a truck driver, or so I said when I was 4 years old.

What are the challenges of working for a nonprofit in Napa Valley? 

There is a perception that there is so much money here that nonprofits should have nothing to worry about. I just came back from an arts conference and whenever I told people where I was from, they got a dreamy look on their face and said, “Oh, that must be so nice,” as if all I do is drink wine, eat bon-bons and stare at the mountains all day.

It’s the same with funders not from the area. I often need to make the case that Napa is actually a rural community, built on agriculture, and somewhat behind the times when it comes to supporting a thriving arts scene through policy and initiatives.

Which other business person(s) would you like to see featured in “10 Questions for…”

Terence Mulligan, president, Napa Valley Community Foundation.

Nick Cann, artist.

Leslie Medine, Executive Director of On the Move.

More from Michelle Williams

What was your first job?

I lied about my age when I was 13 and got a job washing dishes in a restaurant in Morristown, N.J. I think I got paid $13 a night. That same year, I became a studio singer for educational recordings. Obviously, one job was preferable to the other. 

What is the biggest challenge your business has faced?

I run an arts nonprofit in California, so, of course, funding. Beyond that, our biggest challenge is serving everyone we want and need to serve with the limited resources we have.

I can’t live without: coffee, yoga, novels, my friends and family.

What’s on your to-do list?

Figuring out how to make the to-do list shorter and more manageable. 

If you could change one thing about your business, what would it be?

Less time at a desk.

What’s your favorite gift to give?

Anything I’ve baked.

If you could be anywhere right now, where would you be? 

In Hawai’i, with the love of my life.

What is your favorite charity?

Americares. They do amazing disaster relief work all over the world.

What’s the most significant project you’ve been involved with in your career?

Countywide community cultural planning, which we completed last summer here in Napa Valley.

Each Wednesday, the Napa Valley Register’s Business Focus asks “10 Questions” of a local entrepreneur or businessperson. Readers are welcome to suggest business people to be profiled. To suggest a candidate for “10 Questions” e-mail: jhuffman@napanews.com

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