Brandon Williams spent three seasons catching touchdown passes in the National Football League, including the former St. Louis Rams.
His rise to the NFL didn’t happen alone though – coaches and mentors through United Way of Greater St. Louis (UWGSL) nonprofit partner, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis (BGCSTL) helped Brandon harness his athleticism and become a leader on and off the field.
Today, he returns to where it all began, only this time Brandon will lead BGCSTL with the hope of inspiring the next generation of leaders.
Learning to lead
Brandon has been athletically gifted since his early childhood. Growing up, he was a multi-sport athlete, excelling in football, track, baseball, and basketball. When Brandon was 6-years-old, his mother wanted to find a summer camp that could allow him to have fun playing sports while also developing his character and leadership skills.
She enrolled Brandon into BGCSTL’s Mathews-Dickey Club summer camp that offered programs in education, arts, healthy living, leadership development, and more. Camp counselors mentor youth in these areas and some encourage them to also play sports.
At the advice of his mother and a camp counselor who was also one of Mathews-Dickey’s football coaches, he joined the football team and from there, his leadership skills, ambition, and athletic prowess began to soar.
“It was a really great experience to see people that looked like me running an organization and mentoring me, asking me about my goals, and infusing character, integrity, and ethics in everything that I do,” said Brandon. “Once I got to play sports, I got to meet some of the older kids from other teams who went on to graduate from high school and go to college, and I wanted that for myself as well.”
Brandon would go on to play football at Hazelwood East High School, earning a scholarship to the University of Wisconsin-Madison and later drafted by the San Francisco 49ers.
Reaching the NFL was a monumental accomplishment, but a 3-year career wouldn’t sustain him. As he entered the next phase of his life, he reflected on his time at Mathews-Dickey and remembered he was much more than an athlete. Brandon applied the same drive and leadership skills he developed and used those valuable qualities in his post-NFL career.
Over the course of the next decade, he held various jobs in sports broadcasting, business, finance, and more. In 2022, he became the Vice President of Team Business and Event Operations for the St. Louis Battlehawks, a full-circle opportunity for him to combine his love for his hometown, football, and business.
“It was really an awesome opportunity because I’m from St. Louis, I played in that dome as a high school kid in the state championship, and I was a broadcaster here for the St. Louis Rams for Fox 2 News for about five years,” said Brandon. “I felt a lot of nostalgia and I felt honored to be able to run the football team.”
All of these opportunities prepared him to influence and impact the next generation of leaders in St. Louis.
The return
In February, BGCSTL announced that its current President and CEO, Dr. Flint Fowler, would be retiring at the end of the year, and in the months following the announcement, Brandon was offered an opportunity to be considered for the role.
After reflecting on the role and positive influence he could have, he knew it was something he wanted to pursue.
“I started to talk to some of my colleagues in government, corporate America, and community nonprofits here in St. Louis and the consistent thing that I got from those conversations is that this is the most important and impactful position for our youth in St. Louis and you should try to get it,” said Brandon. “It started to sit in my heart that this is something that is important to this city and I felt like I could do the job very well.”
In October, he was selected to take the reigns as President and CEO of BGCSTL beginning in January 2025. Since accepting the role, Brandon has continued to learn more under Dr. Fowler’s mentorship on how to successfully lead BGCSTL. He is embracing the challenge to lead the organization that played such a crucial role in his development.
“I have kids myself, so I know the work that I’m doing is going to impact them and their peers, so it’s very important for me to get it right,” said Brandon. “Its important to make sure every decision we make as an organization is focused on making sure we are providing resources for youth and making sure they’re safe and have opportunities for greater futures.”
As he continues to grow in his new role, he looks forward to hearing stories like his, children and families whose lives have been changed because of BGCSTL.
“In 5 to 10 years, I hope to have hundreds of stories that kids and parents want to share with me and my staff about how our programs have helped them when it came to things like going to college, getting an internship, starting a career, and more,” said Brandon.
Take action now:
- Learn more about how mentorship can change a future.
- Find out how we are helping youth tap into their full potential.
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