Regina Williams-Preston, M.S.
Community Justice Program Director
Community Justice Program Director
As part of the center’s team leading community justice initiatives, Regina Williams-Preston puts her deep knowledge of the community to work as she cultivates partnerships and collaborative projects between Notre Dame and South Bend.
Regina was born and raised in South Bend. She graduated from LaSalle High School and went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in anthropology from Washington University in St. Louis, where she played varsity volleyball and helped the Bears win a Division III national title in 1989.
After college, she coordinated diversity training for businesses, nonprofits, and educational institutions in the San Francisco Bay area. She assisted in the production of two documentaries about race relations, “The Color of Fear” (1994) and “The Way Home” (1998), as part of the job.
She returned to her hometown in 1999 to work in the South Bend Community School Corp., which she served as a special education teacher and administrator for 24 years. She holds a master’s degree in special education from Indiana University South Bend. In addition, she served on the South Bend Common Council from 2016–2020, representing a district that covers part of the city’s west side.