Meet Omkari Williams

Omkari is a podcast host and certified coach working with everyday activists who see wrong in the world and want to make it right. Drawing on her background as an actor and political consultant she helps people leverage the power of story, theirs and others, to create the change they wish to see.

Q+A

What do you hope will be different by this time next year?

I hope that by this time next year there will be a vaccine for Covid19 so that we can return to a less circumscribed life. At the same time, I hope that we pay attention to the gross inequities that this pandemic is shining a spotlight on. We can choose to move forward towards a more equitable and sustainable world or not. But choosing to not move forward, to not change our social structures, is a recipe for more and more severe disasters.

What is the world missing?

I believe that the world is missing a vision of what is possible. We, understandably, tend focus on what we don’t want, poverty, gender-based violence, inequities based on race or sexual orientation. I’m not sure that we’ve put enough thought into what we do want, what that world looks like, and how to move from here to there.

How long do you think you would survive the zombie apocalypse? Why?

I think that I would do pretty well. I haven’t seen a ton of zombie movies but when I do I pay attention to the things that get people killed and think about how to not do that. So, I’ve got a pretty good list of survival strategies as well as a list of, “do that and you’re toast” actions.

What do you believe?

I believe that what each of us does matters. Not in the sense of everyone is special, which by definition means no one is, but in the sense of the collective. I believe in the power of ‘we the people’ to make change. When we come out and protest in huge numbers against war or for climate awareness we start to move the needle on things. It’s not just me but me and millions of other humans speaking and acting for change that will make a difference. I believe that we are likely moving into a time of hyper-localization that will return power to our small communities in a way that hasn’t existed since the advent of the industrial age and people moving to cities. I believe that we can make a choice to live differently in a coronavirus world than we did before and that different can be better if we go into it with intentionality and thoughtfulness.

Whose undies would you run up a flagpole?

Definitely Audrey Hepburn’s because anyone who wore Givenchy on the regular had some gorgeous underpinnings. I do have a very soft spot for that kind of old Hollywood glamour.

What is your favorite place to travel to?

The South China Sea, is the most beautiful and peaceful place I’ve ever experienced. I would happily go back and spend a month just sailing around. All I would need is good food, preferably prepared by someone else, and a stack of books. Bliss.

Want more? Visit Omkari’s website and take the “what kind of activist are you?” quiz and then dive into her Podcast episodes! Follow Omkari on Twitter and Instagram.