Tim Williams Celebrates 20 Years with ICAN

Tim Williams celebrated his 20 year “ICANiversary” in October! Through his work with youth, adults and families, Tim has made a difference in thousands of lives. He is also the ultimate “ICAN guy” – a steadfast presence at events, fundraisers and company functions of all kinds, more times than not playing tunes as our "resident DJ”. You’re not going to find someone as loyal to and who cheerleads as much for us at ICAN. 

“20 years?! It is shocking when I think about it. That’s almost half my life!” 

We caught up with Tim for a reflection on the past two decades.

How He Got Started and Got to ICAN

Tim is a proud LeMoyne grad and majored in sociology while double minoring in psychology and political science. He always had an interest in Criminal Justice and his dream job was to work for the FBI. During college, he did an internship at Onondaga County Department of Correction and through that experience, he got clarity that he wanted to work with people BEFORE they get into situations that may lead them there.

Right out of college, he spent five years in residential care as a child care worker and supervisor in a group home. The next five years was spent still in direct care, doing intakes and individual counseling, running groups and creating a boys group in a detention facility. Being hands-on, reaching youth, relating… that’s where Tim found what he’s great at.

He made his way to us in 2005! Then named Kids Oneida, he came on board as a Family Service Coordinator and over the years, worked with every age group we serve. He really clicks with kids from the inner city, especially the young men, and always felt like he could connect successfully with them and model how making good choices could lead to good things.

A Standout Success Story

A client that stands out most for him is actually a teenage girl he worked with (for about 5 years ) over a decade ago. She was frequently left by herself to take care of her younger siblings. From day one this client displayed so much potential and resilience that the team knew she could thrive with some added support and consistency. Her home life was unstable and despite efforts to keep the family together, she ultimately had to be placed outside of the home for her safety and well being. During this process, she was visibly upset, but once she realized she was safe, she thanked Tim and the team.

“She had overcame so much - trauma and less than stellar parenting. The way she presented, I knew she’d be resilient. She was one of those really special kids who was going to make something of herself! Every time something happened, she’d thank us and be invested in our plans. When she looked at her family situation she said, ‘I’m going to do better than that’, and we were there to let her know that we’d help her do better!” When it came time to discharge her from the program, it was a difficult decision but she had all the tools to go forward and be her best self.

She now has children of her own and every once in a while, someone will run into her and she still asks about Tim - a testament to the power of connection and the influence our staff have in the lives of youth.

Family is Everything… in All Ways!

The relationship with the families we serve and his coworkers is Tim’s driver. He jokingly shares that many times when he went to a first visit with a family, they thought he was a cop! They’d immediately jump to say “We’re not working with you!” and he’d counter them with “How would you feel if I said that to you?” and was quick to break down barriers and make connections. After getting a taste of his personality and good intentions, the family would end up saying, “We’re going to get along great!” With some, you truly become part of their family as time goes on, and when something good OR bad happens, they call you. They grow to trust you. And trust is the foundation which helps lives move forward.

Tim himself doesn’t have a lot of family in this area, and his ICAN family really stands in to fill that void for him. He pushes for relationships with people here, and the friendships spurred through work are a big part of what makes him never consider leaving. He has been through deaths, marriage, divorce, raising his son and so much more in his years here. “It might sound cliche, but it is what it is. It’s my career and my life.” 

A pivotal moment in his time with Kids Oneida/ICAN was in 2010 when his mom passed away. He was five years into his new role and at her services, he looked up and saw his KO coworkers, one after another, lining up to support him and share their condolences. They showed up for him. They told him to only come back when he was ready. They invested in him, and his loyalty from that moment on was with the company that cared for him.

His son Lukas, now in his twenties, grew up with the ICAN family as well and Tim’s work and training with so many youth shaped his own parenting style greatly. “I learned to not address the behavior itself, but address the reason behind the behavior. Figure out why it’s happening. If something happened at school, I’m going to ask him to walk me through his day and work through solutions to help him do better next time. It’s how I approached it with clients – trying to infuse positivity and a calm, open atmosphere for kids to talk to you without dwelling and yelling about everything they did WRONG. It’s a game changer.”  

Tim’s Amazing Career at ICAN

Tim spent 14 years as a Family Service Coordinator, which is an impressive tenure in direct care and was admittedly starting to feel the drain, but never wavered from believing in the power of the work. Over those years, he would have a case load of about a dozen youth at a time, and ended up working with thousands of individuals between the clients and their family members.

Since 2020, he has been the SPIN Manager. On a typical day in that role, there’s a mountain of important notes to review for about 150 cases, nine people to supervise including eight community based support specialists and a court diversion coordinator. He serves as a back up for court diversion, which means finding detention beds, coordinating with law enforcement on transportation and lot of working directly with the judges. Tim also trains Community Based Support Specialists and he loves a good colored-coded spreadsheet!

Tim was deservedly recognized in 2024 as the NYS Coalition for Children’s Behavioral Health Employee of the Year and continually gets internal shout outs from departments and programs for being a great source of institutional knowledge, agency history and positivity. He jokes, “People will tell others to send the question to Tim… he’ll help you! It’s kinda like that TV commercial from the 80s that said to ‘give it to Mikey!’”

How Tim Became Everyone’s “Buddy”!

An article couldn’t be written about Tim without mention of this. Years ago, Tim was with his brother at a Halloween party in Maine. He had decided to go ALL in – shaving his beard, putting on tights, and participating in elfish antics and movie scene reenactments all night. Tim became Buddy the Elf. That costume made its way back to Utica with him and “I was the mascot for a couple years.” It became something of ICAN lore… readings of “Twas the Night Before the Meeting” and an eventual cardboard cut out popped up in precarious places around the office. As the saying goes, “If you know, you know!”

Music and Sports are Liiiiiiife!

Tim has been a Cowboys fan since 1981, literally obsessed with them for 45 years. “I stick with ‘em. I bleed silver and blue and my house is not a pleasant place when they’re not winning.” For his 50th birthday, his (amazing! wonderful! thoughtful!) partner Brandi gifted him and his brother the ultimate gift – a trip to Dallas for a Cowboys game with “all the bells and whistles”. He got a huge surprise when he met Tony Dorsett, who was his favorite player growing up, and got his autograph. Epic!

Tim also loves the Yankees (yes, he has been to the old and new stadiums) and is a Knicks fan. You want him on your team for any sports trivia team. “I’m the Rainman of sports.” He is also a founder, longtime member and “Commish” of the “OG” Fantasy Football League at ICAN. There is no more info that can be shared on that… what happens there, stays there!!!

As for music?! He started DJing in 1999 with a buddy who had his own business - back in the day when you had to make 3-4 copies of the CDs you brought with you in case one got scratched and wouldn’t play! He quickly became a frontman because “I have energy and I’m not ashamed to do anything.” His ability to read the crowd, know what the people want to hear and to get them out of their seats was his superpower. “It was like Wedding Crashers, but we were invited!”

Music overall is therapeutic for him. “That was my life. I could see and hear my situation in music.” From some of his first concerts seeing the Beach Boys with his parents and Robert Palmer with his sister, it expanded to all types of hip hop and other genres of shows, sometimes with pleasant surprises like seeing Destiny’s Child opening for Wyclef before they were big! And there was even that memorable Sugar Hill Gang reunion performance at the Electric Company on Varick Street…

A Huge Thank You To Tim!

Twenty years at an agency or company is a rarity these days. We consider ourselves extremely lucky to have someone like Tim who has been through so much growth with us, who excitedly takes a role as a mentor and leader for so many, and truly loves ICAN through and through.

We’d like to take this time to thank him for his unwavering support of thousands of families and coworkers over the years. Tim, you have brought an incredible and unforgettable mix of humor, positivity and knowledge into everything you do. We’re looking forward to twenty more! Go Cowboys!