eli h. williamson
Curious minds create curious websites. eli williamson has leveraged his curiosity to curate a life of idiosyncratic experiences tethered to the communities in which he cares deeply. He is a veteran, community builder, philanthropic adviser, and photo essayist whose work connects service to opportunity and opportunity to community. Rooted in Chicago’s South Side, he brings community knowledge, institutional experience, and an artist’s attention to the people and places too often overlooked.
Service and community have been an integral part of eli’s life. After serving as a Chicago lifeguard in his youth, a wildland firefighter in college, and a member of U.S. Army Special Operations deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, he brought his experiences and training home to address his community’s most pressing needs. He cofounded Leave No Veteran Behind with another veteran to “Invest in Veterans to Build Better Communities.” With a focus on education, benefits, transitional employment, and community resilience, his organization has been an anchor in distressed communities across the nation.
Through the success of his nonprofit work, he went on to serve as director of Veterans Programs at the Robert R. McCormick Foundation (2012–2016). During his tenure, he guided the foundation’s national and Illinois-focused grantmaking. His current role as a philanthropic consultant brings donors, institutions, and community organizations into conversation around culturally responsive programs and practical solutions to our society’s most pressing needs.
He is an accomplished photo essayist and writer. His writing and photography explore the dynamism and complexity of the Black diaspora’s experiences and its value to world culture. His photographic work has been featured at arts organizations like the Evanston Art Center. His visual and written work can be found online on his website Ghetto Efflorescence, A Philographer’s Writ, and as a contributor to Medium.