Coming to the United States as an immigrant, Jeremy Williams hoped to build a successful future fueled by his love for science and compassion for people. Jeremy’s love for his work has made him one of the most successful scientists in the St. Louis region while also opening doors for him to make a positive impact in the lives of those who are less fortunate.
Once learning about United Way of Greater St. Louis (UWGSL) and our efforts to help people, he was eager to find a way to contribute in any way he could. Seeing the struggles of some of our neighbors in need in St. Louis reminded him of the hardships he faced growing up in his home country, and this common ground empowers his passion for philanthropy to this day.
Building character through tribulation
Jeremy grew up in Georgetown, Guyana with a mother who was a schoolteacher and a father who was a pastor.
Their careers were inspired by their love for people and willingness to understand their successes as well as their challenges and find ways they could help them along in their journey. Empathy and care for people were principles they lived by, and they passed them along to their children.
“You interact with a lot of people when you’re a teacher, and certainly when you’re a pastor, and one of the things that they instilled in my two sisters and I were respect for people and love of people from all walks of life,” said Jeremy. “This has strongly shaped how I work with people in my professional life as well as how I interact with people in my daily life.”
Over the years, many people were beneficiaries of the Williams family’s kind-hearted nature, but they never expected that they would be in desperate need of the help and compassion they showed others.
In the 1970s, Guyana began to experience severe economic hardship, resulting in immense suffering of thousands of their citizens including Jeremy’s family. Obtaining food, milk, books for school, and other basic needs became increasingly difficult, and they had to rely on the help of family and friends to make ends meet. They had relatives in the United States who would mail them various resources to help them stay afloat.
For Jeremy, this difficult time crystalized the importance of people helping people because without the help of others, his family may not have been able to withstand this crisis.
“I have personally experienced the benefits that the care of others can make in your life,” said Jeremy. “I don’t think I would be where I am today without the support of many people who helped us when times were tough.”
Despite the hardship, Jeremy was determined to create a better life for himself. At the age of 18, he brought his dreams and ambitions to the United States of America.
Success and service to others
Jeremy arrived in the United States with a goal of improving his life through education. He obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in biochemistry and French as well as a PhD in molecular biophysics.
His brilliance, hard work, and perseverance were beginning to pay off. Following college, he held various executive level positions in bioinformatics, and in 2011, he took his talents to Monsanto, now known as Bayer, where he quickly excelled as one of the top leaders in chemistry and biotechnology.
He has received two fellowship honors from Monsanto for excelling in his work and was awarded the St. Louis American’s 2025 Corporate Executive of the Year Award. As his career success grew, so did his desire to help people. He never lost site of the principles instilled in him as a young boy in Guyana.
Jeremy first found out about UWGSL through Monsanto’s UWGSL employee giving campaign. He began to learn more about how we make a difference in the communities we serve, the broad impact we have, and our mission to help people live their best possible lives, all of which inspired him to lend his time, talent and treasure to UWGSL’s efforts.
“I’ve contributed to every UWGSL campaign since coming to Monsanto in 2011,” said Jeremy. “It’s been a very effective way to have high impact from donations because it supports a broader safety net.”
In addition to contributing to UWGSL’s campaign, he has become a UWGSL Leadership Giver, currently serves on our executive committee, and frequently participates in Bayer’s volunteer events that benefit UWGSL.
Jeremy enjoys using his resources and platform to be a force for good in the community and an advocate for UWGSL’s efforts to lend a helping hand to someone who needs it. When he sees people who are struggling to meet their essential needs in the St. Louis region, he sees himself and his family who also struggled and needed a hand up during difficult times in Guyana.
He will never forget where he came from and will never relent in his efforts to help UWGSL ensure individuals and families have the tools and support they need today and in the future.
“I am proud to be the executive sponsor of United Way at Bayer in St. Louis because here I get to use my leadership brand to help advocate on behalf of United Way and to help encourage others to do the same,” said Jeremy. “Support for United Way is about strengthening the overall social safety net of the St. Louis region so we can all have more productive businesses, more fulfilled lives, and the kind of community that we all want to live in.”
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