CCWF Paper Trail honors our trailblazing partner 

CCWF’s Public Information Officer Lt. Monique Williams is retiring and leaving big shoes to fill 

How does someone say goodbye to a person who has helped ensure they have a voice? Who has been a source of support and encouragement? Who works to showcase the work you do and tells you that you matter? 

That is the situation in which CCWF Paper Trail and Central California Women’s Facility (CCWF) find themselves with the recent announcement that Lt. Monique Williams will retire on March 31, 2026. 

Williams has been the Administrative Assistant/Public Information Officer (AA/PIO) to Warden Anissa De La Cruz since De La Cruz took office. As Williams has said on many occasions, one of the first things De La Cruz did upon becoming warden was to instruct her to contact Pollen Initiative’s (PI) Jesse Vasquez so a newspaper could be produced within CCWF. Williams enthusiastically took up the challenge and, as a result, CCWF Paper Trail came to be. 

But beyond bringing a newspaper to the institution, Williams has brought her kindness and love to both staff and the population of CCWF. She frequently tours the facility, stopping to speak with individuals she knows as well as anyone who asks a question or says hello. Both staff and incarcerated people feel comfortable speaking with her because of her innate humanity and spirituality. 

Williams also has the gift of making people feel both seen and heard. That is a rare talent for anyone, let alone someone who is tasked with being the warden’s right hand. But Williams simply does here what she does anywhere – which is how it comes so naturally and feels genuine for those with whom she interacts. 

This is especially true for CCWF Paper Trail’s staff members. During meetings and tours we have with various outside agencies, Williams consistently tells us to speak up and reminds us that we have a seat at the table; take advantage of it. “Your voice matters,” she has said on numerous occasions. 

Being the AA/PIO is not an easy job. It requires diplomacy and tact with staff, the incarcerated population, and the media. It requires having an understanding of everything going on inside the institution, all of the various policies and procedures that are in place, and a relationship with individuals at various levels within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. 

For CCWF Paper Trail, Williams has been our supervisor since before the newspaper was even born. She has walked this journey with us and has both celebrated our successes and shared some of our frustrations. During our graduations, she is always in attendance, even stepping in as emcee at the last minute for our first and giving a passionate speech for our second. She has supported the events we have sponsored and cosponsored to help spread the word about our publication and the value of having a community newspaper. And she does her best to bring tours through the media center to spotlight how CCWF is trying to level the playing field when it comes to hearing incarcerated women’s viewpoints. 

Prior to our first journalism guild graduation, PI staff and volunteers worked tirelessly to have CCWF Paper Trail’s first issue in print to pass out to participants. CCWF Paper Trail editorial advisor Kate McQueen remembered the moment when the first issue of Paper Trail was delivered to the Warden’s office. Williams took her copy and was immediately overcome with emotion, bursting into tears of joy as she clutched it to her chest. 

Seeing our stories and names in print during the graduation ceremony was a moment of intense pride for us; Williams felt that same pride. After the event was complete, she approached every person with a story in print and asked them to sign her copy of the paper. “You are history in the making,” she told us. 

Williams will leave some extremely big shoes for the next AA/PIO to fill. But, because Williams is who she is, she will spend considerable time with whoever that person is to both ensure they are successful and that De La Cruz’ vision for CCWF can be implemented. Both of those things are certain – just as it is certain that Monique Williams will be missed. 

We wish you all the best, Lieutenant Williams, and we hope to see you at some of our future events. Enjoy those grandbabies and husband!