Resume

Professional Summary

Educated at Wisconsin, Rice, and Iowa, F. D. Williams joined the faculty of Carnegie-Mellon University at 24. At 28 he was one of two candidates selected for NASA’s three-year program to train senior government officials, rising to head NASA international public affairs, managing projects in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, South America, and the Caribbean, and winning the NASA Exceptional Service Medal for his work with Russia.

At 33 he became director of communications for a Fortune 100 multinational corporation, directing internal and external communications for a division with 13,000 employees, $1.5 billion (current US dollars) in revenues and operations in 70 locations around the world.

At 35, Williams retired from full-time employment to study, write, and consult. Over the following twenty years, he wrote three books, raised two daughters, and assisted a variety of clients ranging from the U.S. Congress, government agencies, national associations and major corporations to small businesses and individuals.

At 54, Williams accepted a job teaching English in the last coal mining region in South Korea. He liked the people so much that he returned two years later to teach at Korea’s most prestigious prep school, the Korean Minjok (National) Leadership Academy. During his four years there, he prepared students for MIT, Caltech, Harvard, Stanford, Oxford, Cambridge, Berkeley, Yale, Princeton, Chicago, Columbia, and other leading universities.

Williams has been a member of Mensa, IntelLink, the Triple Nine Society, the World Intelligence Network, and the International Platform Society.

 

ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS

"When we do not know a person—and also when we do—we have to judge his size by the size and nature of his achievements as compared with the achievements of others in his special line of business—there is no other way." — Mark Twain

• program executive producer for the U.S. Agency for International Development’s AIDSAT project to help leaders of developing countries improve their national economies; twelve heads of state participated; documentary films on education, communications, and technology all won international gold medals; satellite TV special reached 35 million people in 27 countries and the US

• provided U.S. Government international communications strategy for first joint US-Russia manned spaceflight (awarded NASA Exceptional Service Medal)

• developed strategy to achieve National Security Council goal to use public affairs to force withdrawal of Russia from Afghanistan War; prepared report on war for international media; Russia declared unilateral cease-fire four months after project began, complete withdrawal commenced one year later

• scripted conversation for US President heard by an estimated one billion people, and wrote major speeches for US President, US Senator, corporate and government executives

• designed communications evaluation system for NASA's US$50 million (current dollar) public communications operation, uncovering US$8 million in immediate savings

• achieved 23% response rate on a direct mail program for a small government agency by preparing a preceding letter from the Chairman of the US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation to chief executives of the 10,000 largest U.S. corporations, trade associations, and consumer organizations

• prepared best government annual report in the U.S., first U.S. Metric Board Annual Report with cover letter personally written by President Carter (National Association of Government Communicators’ Blue Pencil Award)

• expanded News USA newspaper syndication service for national non-profits and government agencies to reach all 10,000 U.S. newspapers, acting as managing editor and chief writer while tripling revenues and achieving profitability in six months

• conceived marketing approach and pricing strategy for Korean Minjok Leadership Academy “Global Leadership Program for Students” summer and winter sessions, increasing expected annual net profit by an estimated 150% (US$1,000,000)

• editorial advisory board, The Public Manager, helped rename this 20-year-old professional journal (previously The Bureaucrat); served for five years on its board

• led communications in winning US$100 million from U.S. Congress for advanced traffic information system after rejection by the U.S. Department of Transportation

• led communications in winning US$500 million high-tech defense export contract from Government of Canada with special report on US corporation's Canadian activities

• achieved 50%+ annual returns on stock recommendations as editor and publisher of Washington Cashletter personal financial newsletter; monthly issues covered taxes, investments, retirement planning, and consumer affairs

• managed projects in Abu Dhabi, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Belize, Bolivia, Central African Republic, Ecuador, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Suriname, Thailand, and Uruguay

• worked in South Korea (8+ years), Argentina, Canada, Congo, Dominican Republic, England, Egypt, France, Haiti, Holland, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Morocco, Peru, Russia, Sierra Leone, and Spain

• Inventions: U.S. Patent #5,651,214 co-inventor biodegradable plant germination system

• Awards: NASA Exceptional Service Medal for conduct of public affairs activities in support of the first US-Russian joint manned spaceflight; National Association of Government Communicators (NAGC) Blue Pencil Award for editing the best annual report from any government entity in the United States

 

EDUCATION

• University of Wisconsin, Madison, B. A. (English), 1965

• Rice University, Houston, TX, ABD+ (English), 1965-68 passed Ph.D. language examinations (French, German), 1966; passed Ph.D. comprehensive examinations and completed coursework, 1967; submitted dissertation "The Impact of War on American Literature and Society," 1968

• University of Iowa, Iowa City, M.A. (journalism), 1972

• NASA, Federal (Presidential) Management Internship, 1972-75 completed three-year program to train future senior government executives (targeted to public affairs)

• University of Iowa, Iowa City, ABD+ (mass communications), 1980 completed Ph.D. coursework and comprehensive examinations, 1972, submitted dissertation "A System for Evaluating the Effectiveness of Public Communications," 1980

 

WORK EXPERIENCE

Williams Internet Tutoring Service, Lake Geneva, WI, Tucson, AZ, and Seoul, Korea and Adjunct Faculty, Seoul, Korea 2007 - 2014

• assisted top Korean students with essays and applications to leading US universities
• tutored in AP English Language/Literature, writing, TOEFL and history (2007-2014)
• taught AP English Language and Composition, advanced literature and language seminars, and writing courses at Hanyoung Foreign Language High School, Seoul (2008-2011)
• taught Advanced Courses in English to outstanding students in grades 5-10 at Sun Kyung Edu private academy, Seoul (2008-2011)
• taught writing, reading, college prep courses at CheongShim International Academy, Gapyeong, S. Korea (2008)
• taught literature, world history at Hana Academy Seoul (2010)

Senior Faculty Member, English Department, Korean Minjok (National) Leadership Academy (KMLA), South Korea 2002 - 2007

• ranked as best English teacher at South Korea’s most famous prep school
• guided marketing strategy and pricing for KMLA’s first winter and summer courses, adding $1,000,000 (one billion KRW) to annual profit to subsidize academic programs
• prepared students for admission to leading U.S. universities, including many matriculating at Stanford, Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Penn, Duke, MIT, and Caltech

President, Sunlight Corporation, and independent consultant, Washington, DC, Alexandria, VA, and Tucson, AZ 1979-2002

• consultant and project manager for clients including US Congress, Hearst Corporation, IBM, American Trucking Associations, National Alliance of Business, US Metric Board (US Department of Commerce ), NASA, US Information Agency (US State Department), US News, Inc., and a variety of small businesses and non-profits
• (details included in achievements and activities above)

Director of Communications, Sperry Division, Sperry Rand Corporation (later Unisys), Lake Success, NY 1977-1979

• responsible for all internal and external communications for Fortune 100 multinational high-tech division with 13,000 employees in 70 locations around the world
• directed publications, advertising, marketing communications, public relations, government affairs, employee communications, and technical library
• reported to division president, served on division strategic planning council
• helped win Congressional mandate for US$100-million (current dollar) traffic information system after proposal rejected by U.S. Department of Transportation
• prepared special report on corporation's extensive Canadian activities to help win US$500-million (current dollar) high-tech defense export contract with Canada

Federal (now “Presidential”) Management Intern, Public Affairs Officer for International Affairs, NASA, Washington, DC and Houston, TX 1972-77

• one of two people selected by NASA in 1972 to train for senior executive service with rotations through budget, field center, congressional relations, and public affairs
• science information officer for last lunar landing (Apollo 17)
• Voice of Mission Control for first U.S. space station (Skylab)
• Public Affairs Officer for International Affairs, responsible for all NASA public communications outside the U.S. and inside the U.S. on international programs; guided policy and actions of up to 100 public affairs and public information professionals
• guided U.S. Information Agency (now part of Department of State) communications strategy for first joint US-USSR manned space flight; managed Moscow News Center; scripted President Ford's conversation with space crews (audience of one billion people)
• conceived and produced direct broadcast satellite program for $10-million (current dollar) US Agency for International Development AIDSAT project to improve national economies of 27 developing nations from Bangladesh to Peru; won international gold medals for three films in Arabic, French, Spanish, and English on education, communications, and technology; video-conferences with US experts; 12 heads of state participated directly; 2.5-hour broadcast viewed by 35 million people on four continents

Instructor, English Department, Carnegie-Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA, 1968-1971

• one of three faculty members selected to create a new interdisciplinary curriculum to prepare engineers for the economic, social, and political aspects of technological developments [Esso (Exxon) Educational Foundation grant]
• taught undergraduate courses in world literature, composition, science fiction, communications, technical communications for engineering seniors
• taught independent study in playwriting, leading C+ student to a national drama award and admission to Yale University's prestigious graduate School of Drama
• member of first departmental teacher evaluation committee
• co-editor of “Cityscape” anthology of freshman English readings produced under contract to Houghton-Mifflin (publication later canceled due to change in market projections)

 

WRITING

Articles on widely varied topics including science, technology, agriculture, ecology, investments, morality, health, crime, management and politics in such publications as Journal of Popular Culture, Congressional Record, The Public Manager, The Optimist, The Archer, Supervisory Management, Medical Economics, and hundreds of US newspapers

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Director of Educational Programs, NASA: “ I know something of . . . higher educational institutions; I'd place Mr. Williams in the very top rank of those I know who might be candidates for top-level positions. . . .”

Chief, Public Information Office, NASA Manned Spacecraft Center (now Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center): “. . . articulate; displays outstanding writing skills which are creative and conform to accepted journalistic style; . . . quick to convert scientific jargon to understandable terms, yet retaining the proper emphasis on scientific significance.”

Sperry Division Media Relations Manager, Sperry Rand Corporation: “. . . the most professional, the best-organized, the most-sensitive and generally the finest and most capable manager I have ever worked with. . . .”

NASA Assistant Administrator for Public Affairs: “. . . in my opinion, he is the best.”

 

CURRENT REFERENCES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST

Williams conceived and produced Afghanistan: A Background Report, distributed in 1988 to the world media in an effort funded by the US Government to bring Russian involvement in the Afghanistan War to a rapid conclusion.

Prior to the Space Shuttle, Williams (front left) as Voice of Skylab, the first U.S. space station, logged more hours as Voice of Mission Control than anyone in history.