Washington and Lee Announces Human Resources Leadership Transition Mary Main announces retirement and Jodi Williams named executive director of human resources effective July 1, 2022.

By Will Edgar
September 27, 2021

Mary Main, executive director of human resources at Washington and Lee University, will be retiring from that position effective June 30, 2022. Main joined W&L in 2016 from Bates College, where she served as assistant vice president of human resources for nine years. She has spent her entire career in human resources, also working at the People’s Regional Opportunity Program and the Maine Medical Center.

Jodi Williams, executive director of budgets and compensation at W&L, has been named executive director of human resources effective July 1, 2022.

Steve McAllister, W&L’s vice president of finance and university treasurer, announced the leadership transition.

“Mary’s service and contributions to W&L during her tenure have been tremendous, and her calm demeanor, experience and effective counsel will be sorely missed,” said McAllister. “She has directed the university’s human resources function with distinction during a critical period, from the exceptional staffing of our personnel to the implementation of Workday to deftly managing employee relations during the COVID-19 pandemic.”

Williams joined W&L as a staff associate in the Treasurer’s Office in 2002. She subsequently served as an executive assistant in the university President’s Office, as assistant treasurer and then as manager for compensation programs in Human Resources before being named executive director of budgets and compensation in 2018.

“I could not be happier that Jodi Williams has agreed to serve as our next executive director of human resources,” McAllister said. “During her career at W&L, Jodi has consistently demonstrated her expertise in employee relations, compensation and classification, employment, HR data and analytics and organizational development. Her substantive experience and ability to provide sound counsel and effectively partner with all members of the campus community make her well suited for this important role.”

In her new capacity, Williams will oversee the Office of Human Resources and be responsible for the strategic management of employment, benefits, compensation and classification, workforce development, policy development and employee relations for W&L. She will partner with leaders across the university to provide human resources counsel and organizational development insight.

“I am grateful to Steve McAllister for this amazing opportunity and thrilled to rejoin our talented and dedicated human resources team,” Williams said. “I am fortunate to inherit and carry forward Mary’s leadership legacy of providing quality programming and services to recruit, develop and support a diverse workforce that is the foundation of the W&L student experience.”

Williams graduated in 2002 from W&L with a bachelor of arts in public policy and sociology/anthropology and earned her master of business administration from Virginia Tech. She is a certified compensation professional. Williams has served on several university committees and belongs to a number of professional associations and boards, including CUPA-HR, World at Work and the Chamber of Commerce-Economic Development Committee.