Williams is currently head of access to justice analytical services and chief researcher at the Ministry of Justice. In 2007, the UK Government Social Research Unit (GSRU) – part of the HM Treasury – promoted her to deputy director, replacing Philip Davies, who accepted a senior research fellowship at the American Institutes of Research.

She is formerly an analytical consultant who joined GSRU in 2004, having worked in a number of departments, researching local government, welfare, and drug and alcohol policy. Her career began in quantitative research at the National Centre for Social Research.

The Nuffield Foundation’s director Sharon Witherspoon MBE said: “Teresa brings a wealth of experience in commissioning research for policy-makers, and in research design. She has clear ideas about the future development of our work in social research and social policy, and will bring a fresh and thoughtful perspective to what we do and how we do it.”