Contessa Gibson Williams

Contessa Gibson Williams is currently a Student Law Aide - Legal Research Assistant at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, a position held since September 2023. Additionally, since January 2020, Contessa has served as a Senior Paralegal in the Veterans' Rights Project, Public Benefits Practice Group at Legal Aid Chicago, following a year as an AmeriCorps VISTA assigned to the same organization. Upcoming experience includes a role as a Judicial Extern at the U.S. District Courts from May 2024 to July 2024. Previous professional roles span various leadership positions in development and marketing, including Director of Development & Marketing at The Chicago High School for the Arts, and managerial roles in corporate relations at Skills for Chicagoland's Future and the American Heart Association. Contessa holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Rochester and is pursuing a Juris Doctorate at the University of Illinois Chicago School of Law, expected to graduate in May 2026.