Randall W. Williams is an American obstetrician and gynecologist who was the director of the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services from March 9, 2017, appointed by Governor Eric Greitens, through April 21, 2021, under Governor Mike Parson. Prior to that post, he had been appointed as Secretary of North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services, serving under Governor Pat McCrory. Early life and education Williams is the son of textile industrialist William Leaford Williams and Elon University Vice president emeritus, Dr. Jo Watts Williams. He graduated from the Walter M. Williams High School in Burlington, North Carolina, in 1975. He graduated from the University of North Carolina, majoring in History and Zoology, and the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. Career Williams was a practicing OB/GYN for over 30 years, eventually limiting his practice to gynecology. In 2011, Williams ran for the office of mayor of Raleigh, North Carolina. A registered Republican, he finished third in the non-partisan race with 9% of the vote. During his campaign, he had cited his humanitarian work in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Haiti, as contributing to his ability to do the job, also commenting that "Raleigh is the #1 place to live in the United States." Health Director North Carolina Williams became embroiled in controversy over the safety of household well water near coal ash ponds. In testimony in May 2016, related to a lawsuit, state toxicologist Ken Rudo said state health and environmental officials including Williams and former Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) Assistant Secretary Tom Reeder, attempted to “play down the risk” of coal ash contamination of their wells. The officials had rescinded a "do-not-drink" notice sent to some well owners in March 2016. Rudo said in his deposition in the case that the state was informing residents that their household water was safe to drink when it knew it wasn't. Williams contended that he had rescinded those warning notices because he felt they were unnecessarily stirring up alarms. North Carolina's Department of Health and Human Services disagreed with Rudo's contentions. Megan Davies, a state Division of Public Health epidemiologist who was section chief and Rudo's supervisor, resigned because of the manner in which the department and McCrory's administration disputed Rudo's testimony. Davies and a co-worker testified regarding concerns they held about the state inappropriately rescinding the warning notices. McCrory was defeated for election in 2016, losing by .22%,