Cathy Williams
Executive Director and Founder, Second Helpings Hawaii
Cathy Williams is a devout Christian, serving as a faithful steward at Our Lady of Mt Carmel (OLMC) Catholic Church in Kaneohe, Hawaii as the Director, OLMC Youth Ministry, a parish lector, and former faith formation teacher/instructor.
She served 21 years in the U.S. Navy, retiring as a senior officer in December 2002. Upon retirement, she and her husband of 34 years worked in the Department of Defense in Maryland, later relocating to Oahu in April 2014 and retiring from civil service.
She served as a Court-Appointed Special Advocate for Abused Children (CASA) in Maryland and advocated for the vulnerable ones “without a voice”. This experience proved to be one of the most rewarding experiences in her life, as it provided an opportunity to help these children find their way to a safer environment.
Cathy volunteered weekly at the Kailua Women’s Community Correctional Center (WCCC). During a mentoring session, she felt a personal calling to support the incarcerated women as they are furloughed or released. She founded “ Second Helpings ”, a 501 (C) 3 non-profit to assist the women as they transition to their families and community. As Executive Director, she ensures the nonprofit provides assistance seeking employment, rehabilitative service referrals, and assistance in finding faith-based support systems. The overall mission result is to improve the women’s quality of life and successfully reduce the recidivism rate in Hawaii.
Cathy serves as Executive Director of Second Helpings Hawaii, the non-profit she founded in 2017.