Hope for Widows is a non-profit 501(c)3 organization. We are guided by the board of directors who create initiatives and make decisions for the good of our community.
Chasity Williams, President & Chairperson
Chasity Williams is currently a Senior Practice Coordinator for a Management Consulting Firm in Dallas, TX. Chasity has been employed in the Administrative field with several leading companies where she supported Executive level leaders and managed office practices in diverse industries. Her extensive background includes C-Suite/Executive Level Assistant, Corporate Event Planning, Human Resources , Client Relations and Engagement Development. Chasity is also involved with several volunteer organizations that include grief facilitation, bereavement support at local hospices and leading several online grief resources. Her passion and heart is to serve and help others.
Chasity is also a co-author of a book titled ‘The Unwelcome Committee’ which was published in November 2016. It shares three different perspectives of becoming a widow and dealing with the process of grief overall. To read more about this journey and order a copy please visit: The Unwelcome Committee
Chasity met her late husband at the young age of eighteen. In June of 2009, her life would forever change when she lost her husband suddenly in a lake drowning at the age of thirty four years old. Finding out who she was again, raising her son and living life to the fullest even after this tragedy was a mission she was eager to accomplish. Darrell and Chasity have one son together who is now attending college and pursuing his dreams in Finance, Economics and Entrepreneurship.
Chasity enjoys volunteering, traveling, sporting events, writing and spending time with her family and friends.
Maureen Bobo, Secretary & Chairperson
Maureen Bobo is a Christ Follower, Love Advocate, Speaker, Author, Social Worker, Mother and Entrepreneur. Maureen is a single parent of two daughters ages fifteen and seven. She became a single parent on April 7, 2010, when her husband of thirteen years, Martin Quinn Bobo, passed away of chronic heart disease at the age of forty-five. The children at that time were ages eight years and two months old.
The grief from that tragedy led Maureen to develop The Beautiful Stones Ministries, in which the goal is to provide love and support to the grieving heart through grief support groups and social services. Maureen is a co-author of ‘The Unwelcome Committee’; the story of three young widows with children and their navigation through the processes of grief. Maureen is also involved in singles ministry development at her church. She believes that singles need to be nurtured and cultivated in the season that they are in so they can thrive in God’s purposes for their lives. Maureen has completed four half marathons and has a goal to complete a half marathon in every state. She has a message for people: “Be your own superhero, and make your own self proud through intentional self-care.” and that you CAN go from “Tragedy to Triumph.” Although based in Ohio, Maureen plans to encourage people worldwide to rock their inner athlete to the core and become unleashed! Through her life story, Maureen wants to encourage and inspire people to not only dream but dream big, by putting their faith in flight and loving themselves and others.
Khadija Ali, Treasurer & Chairperson
Khadija Ali is a coach, motivational speaker and author. Her passion for helping women evolve and transform their lives stems from triumphing over tragedy in her own life. In 2007, she found herself a single mom to five children after losing her husband to colon cancer. Overnight, she had to figure out how to settle her husband’s estate and find housing for her and her five children. It was a wake up call for this newly widowed woman!
In 2012, Khadija asked ten other young widows to write a book about their experiences. Only two widows, Maureen Bobo and Chasity Williams, continued on with the book, “The Unwelcome Committee”. The book is not only significant to losing a spouse, but to comprehend and grasp the outlook of grief overall. When Khadija is not coaching or speaking, she can be found working on her next book, ‘Blessed When I Do, Blessed When I Don’t: 22 Lessons on Living, Loving and Doing You!’ due later this year.
Markell R. Morris, Board Member
Markell is a Career Counselor and Coach that helps career changers figure out what they really want after loss and personal challenges through her company Futures in Motion, Inc. She has created career information resources and programs that educate, guide and mentor people in support of pursuing meaningful careers from a place of possibility and abundance. Clients say she inspires, encourages and empowers them to go after their goals and live their best life.
In 2013, Markell unexpectedly became a widow when her husband, Mark, died suddenly weeks before their first anniversary. She had to figure out how to reestablish her employment and reinvent her career. On the journey, Hope for Widows was an organization she turned to for support and community. Markell hopes that by joining the Board she can use her career coaching and organizational development background to support Hope for Widows Foundation’s vision to plant seeds of hope in the hearts of widows, so they can go from grieving to surviving to thriving.
Markell is also an associate faculty member at Santa Monica College Transfer/Counseling Center and Adjunct Career Counselor at Cypress College. She is the President of the California Career Development Association and Volunteer Grief Group Facilitator at New Hope Grief Support Community.
She received her Master’s degree in Counseling from the University of San Diego, and her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from the University of California, Santa Barbara (Go Gauchos!).
You can learn more about how Markell helps career changers discover meaningful career paths after loss and personal challenges, and request her guide, 5 Steps for Launching Your Career Transition at her website http://www.futures-in-motion.com.