Oct. 8 at Boston Harbor Hotel
The late Victoria Williams, left, with Walter Ramos of Rogerson Communities. Courtesy image
Victoria Williams, who died on Sept. 7 at age 78, will be honored posthumously with a lifetime achievement award at Rogerson Communities’ Welcome Home Gala next month.
Williams, a lifelong Boston resident, spent more than 30 years in senior positions with the City of Boston, including service as director of the city’s Office of Civil Rights and executive director of the Boston Fair Housing Commission. She also served as co-president of Forward, Inc., a Roxbury-based organization founded by civil rights leader Melnea Cass that serves older adults.
“We are deeply saddened by the loss of our dear friend and collaborator,” said Walter Ramos, president and CEO of Rogerson. He praised Williams’s advocacy for older adults and said her work had “an outsized positive impact on so many lives.”
Rogerson has worked with Forward, Inc. since 1999, when it was brought in to manage Council Tower and help preserve the property as affordable housing. The organizations later worked together on the redevelopment of a three-acre Egleston Square site into housing for older adults.
Dorchester’s Darryl Smith called Williams “a great fighter for our community” who will be greatly missed in her role as chair of the Ward 12 Democratic Committee and the organization Communities of Color.
The gala will be held on Thurs., Oct. 8, at the Boston Harbor Hotel.
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