An Unexpected Gift for Inspiring Work – Interim Director Returns 4 Months’ Pay to Agency

By Jessie Mangaliman
San Jose Mercury News
Feb. 22, 2006

Born and raised in western Wisconsin to a family of beekeepers, Clark A. Williams learned early in life the power and pain of an insect sting.

“It hurts,” he says with an easy laugh.

But the life lesson that Williams grew to understand and practice — he was just 26 when he lost his partner to AIDS — was that for life’s stings and pains, the best salve is giving.

Recently, two weeks away from completing a four-month stint as executive director of the Billy DeFrank Center, San Jose’s gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender center, the 40-year-old social worker gave back the salary he earned during those months.

“I was moved by the hard work that all the volunteers put in and the other donors who gave,” said Williams who instructed the board not to pay him for his time. “I've just been so inspired by their contributions.”

Those who know Williams regarded his generosity and the long hours he put in at the center as typical of his selfless character.

“That’s the kind of person he is,” said center board member Rhonda Mitchell. “It surprised me, but it didn't surprise me.”

Mitchell and other board members want Williams to stay at the helm of the center, which offers such services as counseling and after-school programs to about 1,000 South Bay residents each month. But in November, when he agreed to step in for former Executive Director Patrick Soricone — now with United Way in San Jose — Williams made it clear his tenure would be limited. He and his partner, Jim Moore, an attorney, are raising a 2-year-old daughter.

“We kept hoping he'd change his mind,” Mitchell said ruefully. “If we could only clone him.”

Inspirational act

The board is interviewing the three finalists for the top post and is expected in several weeks to announce a new executive director.

Meanwhile, Williams’ donation inspired new and longstanding contributors to the center to re-double their own giving.

Chris Weber, the DeFrank’s fundraising director, said he expects new donations to match what Williams gave.

“I was blown away by his generosity,” Weber said. “And we want to use it as leverage in our fundraising.”

For Williams, giving up four months of wages will involve some personal adjustments.

“I told my partner I really felt compelled to make a contribution,” he said. “So we took a look at our finances and decided that we can cut some corners.”

One of those cuts will affect his partner. Instead of going out to lunch everyday, Moore will go just once a week.

Williams and Moore met in New York City and have been together for 10 years. Five years ago, they left the East Coast and moved to San Jose to raise a family. They adopted their daughter, Caroline, two years ago.

“I gained a great work ethic growing up in a farm in Wisconsin,” Williams said. “You work early. You work hard. And you give to the community you're in.”

With just a week of training from Soricone, the outgoing director, Williams stepped in.

Volunteers and board members noted how quickly Williams set about the work. He helped the board redefine its goals and mission, start an annual fundraising campaign — the center has an annual operating budget of about $800,000 — and raise its profile.

After his first partner, a physician, died of AIDS in 1992 in Wisconsin, a devastated Williams said, “I was changed in a way I didn't quite understand.”

Those emotions looped him back to another family ethic. He decided that giving of himself, the way he saw his parents give by taking in foster kids in their family, the value they placed on community, was as sure a direction he could take, leading him ultimately to social work. He earned a master’s degree in social work at New York University.

In New York City and Baltimore, he worked on HIV-prevention programs. When he and Moore moved to San Jose, his first job was with the Santa Clara County Health Department, working on outreach programs to prevent the spread of HIV.

He was a donor and supporter of DeFrank before serving as its interim director.

“I believe in the importance of this center,” Williams said. “I wanted to leave a mark.”