About Marlin
Ten-plus years ago, I started saying something out loud that I didn’t yet understand:
My Peace Is Non-Negotiable.
It wasn’t a brand.
It wasn’t a book idea.
It was a quiet promise I was making to myself while still learning how to keep it.
At the time, I was living life on everyone else’s terms.
Some decisions were forced on me.
Others I imposed on myself — believing that if I just performed hard enough, sacrificed enough, someone would finally see me.
I was the strong one.
Performing strength instead of actually living in peace.
Years later — after choosing myself, losing some people, and learning what peace actually costs — I came full circle.
This work grew out of that knowing.
I’ve spent much of my life being the one others relied on.
In work.
In family.
In rooms where decisions mattered and there was little room for uncertainty.
Over time, I learned how to carry responsibility — and what it costs when you do it without pause, honesty, or care.
This work grew out of that knowing.
Grounded Authority
I’ve spent decades building, leading, and repairing systems — in organizations, businesses, and technology environments where the stakes were real and the consequences visible. My background spans corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, and large-scale technology implementation across public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
The Shift
My path into technology was anything but traditional.
After college, I worked as an aspiring mortician before entering an intensive program where I learned seven programming languages in thirteen weeks. I emerged as a mainframe programmer supporting automotive and financial systems.
And it changed the trajectory of my life.
Years later I was asked to serve as Deputy CIO for the City of Detroit, overseeing large-scale initiatives, including the technology infrastructure supporting Super Bowl XL. I held multiple C-suite roles — across Fortune 500 companies and a Unicorn startup. I eventually became Chief Program Officer at an entrepreneurial hub where I created the city’s first tech-based ideation phase accelerator and coached thousands of entrepreneurs.
I built. I led. I fixed broken systems in organizations where the stakes were high and the consequences visible.
And I was good at it.
But somewhere along the way, I lost myself. I stopped asking whether it was worth what it was costing me.
It wasn’t a clean break.
It came with loss, change, and hard resets.
And I chose myself anyway.
How I Work Now
In 2013, I founded Sisters Code to awaken the “mature geek” — expanding access to technology for women who had been overlooked or discouraged. That work evolved into AI for Aunties, supporting Gen X+ women in using technology to make life easier, not louder.
I also created S.T.O.P. (Selecting Technology While Optimizing Processes) — a systems-based discipline that helps organizations choose the right technology by first addressing process clarity, readiness, and alignment. This isn’t new work for me. Nearly two decades ago, I was helping medical organizations move from paper records to electronic systems using what would later become this methodology.
Today, I work deliberately — helping people and organizations move forward without abandoning themselves in the process.
My work sits at the intersection of peace, systems, and practical decision-making.
I write. I speak. I coach. I consult.
And I do it all from one belief: peace is practical — and it must be designed.
Who I Work With
I work with people and organizations who are paying attention — to what no longer fits, what feels heavy, and what needs to change.
They aren’t looking for noise or pressure.
They’re looking for clarity, alignment, and sustainable ways forward.
That might mean:
● A Gen X+ woman redesigning her life without burning it all down
● An organization choosing technology that actually supports their people instead of exhausting them
● A leader navigating transition and asking honest questions about what comes next
If you’re here, something in you is already paying attention
Short Bio
Marlin Williams is a technology founder, certified coach, and speaker with over 25 years of experience helping individuals and organizations navigate change with clarity and intention. Her work sits at the intersection of peace, systems, and practical decision-making.
A former mainframe programmer and Deputy CIO for the City of Detroit, Marlin has led complex technology and organizational initiatives across corporate, startup, nonprofit, and public-sector environments. She is the founder of Sisters Code, creator of AI for Aunties, and the architect of the S.T.O.P. discipline.
Her work is grounded in one belief: peace is practical — and it must be designed.
Professional Bio
For media, speaking, and professional context
Marlin Williams is a technology founder, certified coach, speaker, and C-suite executive with more than 25 years of experience working at the intersection of technology, economic development, and organizational transformation. Her career spans corporate leadership, entrepreneurship, and public-sector innovation. A former mainframe programmer, Marlin has held senior leadership roles including COO, CHRO, and Global DEI Officer across Fortune 500 companies, high-growth startups, and municipal government. As Deputy Chief Information Officer for the City of Detroit, she led the technology infrastructure supporting Super Bowl XL.
Marlin also served as the inaugural Chief Program Officer at TechTown Detroit, where she launched the city’s first inclusion-based technology accelerator and coached thousands of entrepreneurs to start, grow, and scale their businesses.
In 2013, she founded Sisters Code, now in its twelfth year, to “awaken the mature geek” and expand access to technology for women who had been historically overlooked. That work has evolved into AI for Aunties, a platform designed to make artificial intelligence practical, accessible, and useful for everyday life and work.
She is also the creator of S.T.O.P. (Selecting Technology While Optimizing Processes), a systems-based discipline — now evolving into an AI-driven solution — that helps organizations choose the right technology by first addressing process clarity, readiness, and alignment.
She is the author of the forthcoming book My Peace Is Non-Negotiable, which explores Gen X women reclaiming their peace, power, and purpose through intentional decisions and boundaries.
A sought-after speaker, Marlin has shared her insights on reinvention, digital confidence, intentional leadership, women in technology, and AI for everyday life on stages including SXSW, Microsoft, Google, LinkedIn, TEDx, Black Enterprise, Techonomy, and Yes We Code.