Media powerhouse Ebony Williams on carving her own path and the impact of mentorship
“I’m the jumper. I’m that one that will just act on the faith of her abilities and believe in herself and it will happen. I’m not scared to fail.”
– Ebony Williams
Paying your dues in the media industry can feel like a baptism by fire.
“I was a receptionist and that’s what happened,” Ebony Williams said.
Williams is an on-air host, writer, producer and director who has walked a nontraditional path through her industry. She worked for a local broadcast television station in Anchorage, Alaska, her hometown, beginning in 2006 while she was still in high school. She split her time between her job, school and track meets. It was when she graduated that she was moved from the reception desk to the live set to present the weather.
“I thought it was a test run but it wasn’t,” Williams said. “No, this was going to be live.”
She said she learned quickly that working at a small television station had its own myriad of issues. Teleprompters didn’t work properly, so she memorized her scripts. She didn’t have formal education in meteorology — or even started college — so she watched and replicated the meteorologists’ every move.
“That’s the story of my whole career. They just throw me in there, and I just swim,” she said.
She’s swam upstream ever since. After four years on TV, she jumped to commercial radio as a night host and then had her own midday show. Through radio, she found her way to Houston, Los Angeles, Atlanta and a number of other larger markets.
Williams says the transition from a small market like Anchorage to those in bigger cities brought another set of challenges. Even with years of experience and a stacked resume, she had not yet earned a degree in her field — a credential she wouldn’t have until 2016.
“It was really tough, because you’re looking at your competition and being like, ‘Wow they have all of this background. I have the experience but I don’t have this background,” she said.
Like the TV station, she was left alone early in her career to figure out how to elevate herself. Williams says, in particular about her time in Los Angeles, she tried to find mentors to get more insight into her new professional environment. But when she would, she says she was met with speculation — people thought she was after their jobs.
“So that was also very hard to get people to understand: I’m not coming for you, like, it’d just be nice to get some help, and that’s still a struggle to do especially in entertainment,” she said.
“… There’s enough room for everyone, and we all can win. So I’m going to pull you up.”
– Ebony Williams
Having someone who can show you the ins and outs of your industry can help you better prepare for hurdles you may not anticipate. A Cornell University study found that women and other underrepresented groups were 15% to 38% more likely to be promoted or stay with a company when they had mentors. But without a mentor, it can feel as if you reach a dead end when problems come up, Williams said.
“This is why a lot of people quit and give up, because it’s so easy to quit and give up because you don’t know how to do anything,” she said.
While she trekked solo in the beginning, in time, Williams found a mentor in veteran comedian Marlon Wayans of the Wayans Bros. after meeting him during a radio stop for one of his concerts. She says Wayans has been her personal cheerleader, providing her with words of affirmation, encouraging her to expand her network, move to Los Angeles and develop her talents.
“When he started getting heavy on writing, producing and stuff like that he’s like, ‘You need these books. My person told me to read these books,” Williams said. “And he would list all these books and be like, ‘Get them!”
Wayans’ guidance also came at a time when, Williams says, she reached a low point in her mental health — an episode she abruptly mentioned during her radio show.
“I remember they gave me Wale’s song ‘Bad’ to introduce, and I was having one heck of a night before that,” she said. “And that night I contacted all 400 people in my phone book, including family. No one answered but Marlon.”
When Williams opened up about her mental health on air, she says her boss at the time came into the booth and asked about her well-being, and the phone lines lit up.
“I tapped into a new world of openness of the community,” she said. “I felt like opening that world of mental health with the radio station, especially in, like, any community of color, it’s hard to talk about. And so that led people to answer and, like, call and share their stories, and I didn’t feel alone,” she said.
Williams is now almost two decades into her journey, and she says she’s still eager to learn. From radio and television, she’s also worked for digital publications and embarked on her own productions, leading as a director.
“I’m the jumper. I’m that one that will just act on the faith of her abilities and believe in herself and it will happen,” Williams said. “I’m not scared to fail.”
She’s built communities wherever she’s landed and extends the allyship she didn’t have in her early career. She says that’s important, and the chance of helping others learn the industry is what keeps her motivated to stay.
“But I’m not going to be threatened by anybody else coming in because there’s enough room for everyone, and we all can win. So I’m going to pull you up,” she said.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, there are resources to help. If you are in crisis and need help right away, call 988.
