Dr. Richard A. Williams, Ph.D., is currently working on a book about the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).  He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Institute for the Advancement of Food and Nutrition Sciences and formerly on the EPA Science Advisory Board.  He is retired from a 27-year career at the FDA where he was the Chief Social Scientist at the Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition and retired from nine years as Vice President at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University where he continues as a Senior Affiliated Scholar.  He is also affiliated with the Center for Growth and Opportunity at Utah State University.

He is a former professor of economics at Washington and Lee University in Virginia.  His expertise lies in risk analysis, including economic benefit-cost analysis, the regulatory process, food safety and nutrition.  He continues to publish op-eds in a wide variety of publications including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times and the Chicago Tribune.

Dr. Williams has testified before the U.S. Congress on multiple issues and addressed numerous international governments, including those of the United Kingdom, China, South Korea, Yugoslavia, and Australia. His media appearances have included NPR, RealClearRadio, the Diane Rehm Show, CNN and CSPAN.  Richard holds a Ph.D. in Economics from Virginia Tech and an undergraduate degree from Old Dominion University.