Lee Ann Williams
- Clinical Assistant Professor and Program Director, RHS, Education, Health & Behavior
Contact Info
- Email: leeann.williams@UND.edu
- Office: 701.777.4259
- Alt Phone: 701.777.4259
Office Address
Education Room 274
231 Centennial Drive Stop 7189
Grand Forks, ND 58202-7189
Curriculum Vitae
Biography
Lee Ann Rawlins Williams, PhD, CRC, CFLE is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the Education, Health and Behavior Studies Department at the University of North Dakota. She serves as Program Director of Undergraduate Inclusive Rehabilitation Sciences Program (formerly Rehabilitation and Human Services Program). Dr. Williams has extensive academic experience working with programs focusing on disability and rehabilitation at various universities. In addition, her professional experiences include work in the field of rehabilitation in the areas of blindness and low vision, general rehabilitation counseling, human resource training/development, education and mental health and student services. Recently, her research has centered on the recovery of educational systems following natural disasters, with a particular focus on how loss impacts the emotional well-being of teachers and students.
Dr. Williams has held a variety of leadership positions at the local, state, regional, national, and international levels for professional rehabilitation associations. She has published research in peer-reviewed journals and co-authored two books focusing on case and caseload management. When not working her academic position, Dr. Williams enjoys a variety of sporting events, traveling, and spending time with her family and rescue dog Foxy Roxy.
RHS 250 Introduction to the Rehabilitation Professions
RHS 260 Inclusion in Recreation Settings: Technology and Rehabilitation
RHS 350 Overview of Disabilities
RHS 375 Psychosocial Aspects of Disability
RHS 455 Rehabilitation Process: Case and Caseload Management
RHS 493 Senior Capstone Seminar
RHS 497 Internship in Rehabilitation
RHS 499 Special Topics in Rehabilitation
COUN 536: Medical & Psychosocial Aspects of Disabilities
COUN 593: Readings in Counseling
(SPEA-UD) COUN 536: Medical & Psychosocial Aspects of Disabilities
(SPEA-UD) COUN 539: Case Management and Community Partnerships in Rehabilitation
Dr. Rawlins Williams, PhD, CRC, CFLE has extensive academic experience working with programs focusing on disability and rehabilitation at various academic levels with emphasis in undergraduate education. She has co-authored two textbooks focused in the areas of case and caseload management. Additional areas of research include disability, rehabilitation, case/caseload management, psychosocial aspects of disability, mental health, education, and global disaster preparedness.
Dr. Williams work incorporates students in undergraduate and graduate programs focused on various areas of disability and rehabilitation. She serves at the graduate level on thesis and disseration committees focusing in these research areas of interest.
Williams, L.A. & Oswald G. (2025). Fundamentals of Case and Caseload Management: Skills for rehabilitation practice. Springer Publishing.
Bruce, A. & Williams, L.A. (2025). Access and citizenship for those with disabilities: Digitally enabled education and AI as a bridge to innovative inclusion. In Digital citizenship and the future of AI engagement, ethics, and privacy (pp. 123-145). IGI Global Scientific Publishing. doi: 10.4018/979-8-3693-9015-3.ch002.
Williams, L.A. (February, 2025). What Los Angeles- area schools can learn from other districts devastated by natural disasters. The Conversation. Reposted by UNDRR, USA: What LA-area schools can learn from disaster-affected districts | PreventionWeb.
Williams, L.A. (February, 2025). What Los Angeles- area schools can learn from other districts devastated by natural disasters. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/what-los-angeles-area-schools-can-learn-from-other-districts-devastated-by-natural-disasters-247777.
Williams, L.A. (January, 2025) Featured on episode of Prairie Public’s Main Street. Disaster Prep, New Eats, Hemp Revival, and Carter: the First "Green" President https://news.prairiepublic.org/podcast/main-street/2025-01-08/disaster-prep-new-eats-hemp-revival-and-carter-the-first-green-president
Williams, L.A. (December, 2024). Digital divide and impact on rural education during emergency. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/why-natural-disasters-hit-harder-in-rural-school-districts-241416
Williams, L.A. (2024). Navigating the global impact of mental health: Strategies for enhancing well-being in educational environments and supporting educators. In Proceedings of the 2024 International Conference on Education, Research, and Innovation (ICERI), Seville, Spain (ISBN: 978-84-09-63010-3; Abstract ID 1967, pages 8061-8066). doi: 10.21125/iceri.2024.1967
Rawlins Williams, L.A. (November, 2024) Navigating the global impact of mental health: Strategies for enhancing well-being in educational environments and supporting educators. 17th Annual International Conference of Education, Research and Innovation (ICERI), Seville (Spain), November 11-13, 2024.
Rawlins Williams, L.A. (October, 2024) Mental health coming educators. Southeastern Region Action Council (SERAC). Invited speaker.
Rawlins Williams, L.A. (September, 2024). KCBS Radio, On Demand.Young professionals are having trouble communicating with older coworkers.
Williams, L. A. (September, 2024). Young professionals are struggling to socially adapt in the workplace – educators can help. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/young-professionals-are-struggling-to-socially-adapt-in-the-workplace-educators-can-help-219072
Rawlins Williams, L.A. (August, 2024). Welcome to case management: Tips and Tools. National Rehabilitation Counseling Association (NRCA), Lunch and Learn Series.
Pipia, E. & Rawlins Williams, L.A. (February, 2024). Navigating the “new normal” in higher education: Interplay between social disruptions, academic achievements, and emotional well-being. International Technology, Education and Development Conference (INTED), article publication #1742.
Rawlins Williams, L.A. (February, 2024).The Academic Minute : Teachers have feelings too: Fostering mental health support in education. https://academicminute.org/2024/02/lee-ann-rawlins-williams-university-of-north-dakota-teachers-have-feelings-too-fostering-mental-health-support-in-education/
Rawlins Williams, L.A. (2024). Students do better and schools are more stable when teachers get mental health support. The Conversation.
Williams, L.A. (September 20-22, 2023). Rehabilitation caseload management: Tools for professional practice. [Conference Session]. National Rehabilitation Counseling Association (NRCA)/ Rehabilitation Counselors and Professionals Association of Arkansas (RCPAA) Joint Conference, Little Rock, Arkansas, United States.
Sprong M.E., Hollender H., Lee Y.-S., Rawlins Williams L.A., Sneed Z., Garakani A. and Buono F.D. (2023). Disparities in program enrollment and employment outcomes for veterans with psychiatric and co-occurring substance use disorders referred or enrolled for VHA vocational rehabilitation. Frontiers in Psychiatry 14:1200450. doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1200450
Rawlins Williams, L.A. (2023). Impact of COVID-19 on the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Crisis: Promoting Mental Health Literacy in Family Life Education. CFLE Network, Spring 2023.
Rawlins-Williams, L.A. & Williams, T. (2021). The experiences of community college students impacted by COVID-19: Transitions from traditional didactic learning to online formats. The Rehabilitation Professional, 29(3), pp. 185-198.
Rawlins-Williams, L. A., & Oswald, G. R. (2021). Facilitating knowledge in rehabilitation counseling professionals on caseload management: A pre-test/post-test evaluation. The Rehabilitation Professional, 29(1), pp. 5–12
Oswald, G., Huck, G. & Rawlins Williams, L.A. (2020). Undergraduate Rehabilitation Student Perceptions of Post-Graduation Outcomes and Professional Identity. Journal of Applied Rehabilitation Counseling 51(3), 249-263.
Oswald, G., Alderman, L., & Willmering, P. (2017). Short-Term Job Shadowing Experience Benefits for Undergraduate Rehabilitation Students. The Australian Journal of Rehabilitation Counselling, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1017/jrc.2017.2.
Oswald, G. R., Flexer, R., Alderman, L. A., & Huber, M. (2016). Predictive value of personal characteristics and the employment of transition-aged youth in vocational rehabilitation. Journal of Rehabilitation, 82(4), 60-66.
Alderman, L.A., & Oswald, G. (2016). The current state of specialization and self-identity among Certified Rehabilitation Counselors. The Rehabilitation Professional, 24(2), 69-74.
Tidwell, P., Fleming, C, Kraska, M. & Alderman, L.A. (2016). Transition assessment practices: Identifying resources, tools & technical assistance needed by rehabilitation transition counselors. Journal of Rehabilitation, 82(1), 3-11.
Rawlins-Alderman, L. A., Dock, R., Steele, M. & Wofford, L. (2015). Current vocational assessment methods. Vocational Evaluation and Career Assessment Professionals Journal (VCAP) and Vocational Evaluation and Work Adjustment Association Journal (VEWAA) Tools of Evaluation Special Joint Issue, 18-36.*
Rawlins-Alderman, L.A. & Dunn, P. L. (2015). A review of case and caseload management course availability in undergraduate rehabilitation and disability studies programs. The Rehabilitation Professional, 23(3), 163-168.
Awards
- 2025 Excellence in Research and Scholarship Award Recipient-UND College of Education and Human Development
- 2024 Building Inclusive Campus and Culture (Special Issue)-UND Today Article
- 2024 Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching Award Nomination-University of North Dakota (UND)
- 2023 UND, President Armacost Message (08/22/2023)
Certifications
- Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (1998- present)
- Certified Family Life Educator (2003-present)
Ph.D. Human Development, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (2003)
M.S. Rehabilitation Counselor Education, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (1998)
B.S. Human Services, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN (1997)