Calvinia Williams is of African American and Native American Indian specifically Cherokee and Blackfoot descent. She is the founder of the Lupus Ministry and Support group and now founder of Lupus of Nevada, Inc., in Las Vegas, Nevada. Prior to her move to Las Vegas, she extensively worked in the non-profit industry for thirty years. Ms. Williams has worked for United Negro College Fund, the American Red Cross, and as sound engineer for various radio stations. Also, she has produced her own on-air cable talk show. She has held a variety of positions with the West Coast Office of the NAACP, Sickle Cell Chapter in San Francisco, and many other agencies that have benefited from her expertise. She recently received Woman of the Year 2006-2007 award from her Omicron Chapter Beta Sigma Phi in Las Vegas. Ms. Williams was also on the Lupus Foundation of America Education Committee out of Washington, D.C. Ms. Williams' journey began with her diagnosis in December 2001. At that time, her vision became impaired for three months. Not knowing if and when her vision would return, she began to alter her life for the road ahead. The world of darkness became her day, and her heart became her friend. This has been a long and fruitful journey, but the friends she has picked up along the way are lifelong.