Elizabeth Omilami

Elizabeth Omilami is the executive director of Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless, which feeds and supplies free services to more than 60,000 underserved people a year.

But did you know that before she took the torch from her famous parents, the Rev. Hosea and Juanita Williams (who founded the organization in 1971), she was an aspiring actress on her way to Hollywood.

“Acting was the only perfection where I felt safe and where I fit in,” says Elizabeth. Raised on the front lines of the civil rights movement with her famous dad, Elizabeth didn’t think that she would ever find her place in the world. “I had been arrested so many times at an early age. Marching from place to place, you’re involved in something that is considered so rare, not your normal lifestyle.”

She reminisces: “In that dark place in the theater, you don’t have to hide. … When I am on stage as an actor, I get something out of it personally; I am in a different zone.” But God had another plan for this 58-year-old aspiring actress.

Under her determined leadership, Hosea Feed the Hungry and Homeless has evolved from what used to be a two-day-a-year ministry, into one of the most respected charities in the country — a 24-hour-a-day, international operation with schools in the Philippians and missions in Haiti and Uganda.

“God made the decision for me; I didn’t know what I was getting into. I work every day all year long. I see those people coming here; I realize how important Hosea Feed the Hungry is to the lives we serve.” Elizabeth has no regrets from not pursuing her career as an actress. “What God has for you is for you, and either God is God — or He ain’t. You accept that some dreams didn’t come true and be thankful for the ones that did.”

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