Jay Williams

As a graduate of Northwestern University’s film school, Jay Williams found early success as a cinematographer, working behind the camera on iconic American television shows and helping launch a Travel Channel show as its host. But all of that left him unfulfilled—he realized that his desire to help people required a more personal connection.

Williams became a firefighter in Los Angeles, where he could be a part of a team that saved lives and comforted people in their most trying moments. A native of Westchester County, New York, just outside of Manhattan, he had never considered living in a more suburban environment. But when his sister moved to Nashville, Jay and his wife, Adrienne, realized they could see themselves starting a family there, too.

He joined the fire department in Brentwood, Tennessee, where the 48 hours on/96 hours off schedule gave him time to pursue some passions. When an article in the local newspaper described the plight of honeybees, he found a new one. Today, Jay manages millions of bees across Middle Tennessee, including approximately four million in six apiaries at Southall.

Now retired from the fire service, Williams leverages his interest in education and knack for connecting with people to establish and grow new hives, reversing the trend of bee decline while creating advocates for pollinators and inspiring the next generation of beekeepers. Having trained and equipped more than 600 new beginner beekeepers, he’s a certified journeyman keeper and an active honeybee queen breeder whose work has been recognized in national media outlets and whose honey has won coveted awards for its complexity of flavor.

At Southall, honeybees and native species—mason bees, leafcutter bees, and others—are managed to increase harvest yields on a range of crops, both in the greenhouses and outdoors in the orchard, kitchen gardens, and production fields. The bees collect pollen that is harvested for culinary use, as well as honey that is removed from the hives only in July, when it features notes of everything from the American elm of late February to the clover and basswood of the summer.

Throughout the season, Williams and the beekeeping team are always looking for the chance to show guests the inside of a honeybee hive and to share their love for the ways in which these amazing insects help sustain the circle of life at Southall. For Jay, it’s a chance to celebrate and advocate for greater pollinator stewardship. And with such a unique background in filmmaking, public service, teaching, and storytelling, he’s well positioned to show the world just how vital our pollinators are to our food and ecosystems.