Dr. Denise Williams Mallett is a respected higher education leader with over 25 years of experience helping institutions grow, students thrive, and communities rise. She’s held executive roles at Marygrove College, Wayne County Community College District, and the University of Detroit Mercy—where she became the institution’s first African American Vice President.

But The Village Effect isn’t about her titles.

It’s about the truth behind them.

As a woman who has often been the "strong one" at work, in her family, in every room she’s walked into, Denise knows the quiet exhaustion that comes from always holding it together. This book is her personal and professional offering to other high-capacity women: the ones who lead, love, and carry it all… but rarely feel carried themselves.

With a voice that’s both grounded and generous, Denise invites readers into a space where leadership doesn’t require self-neglect, and faith doesn’t demand silence.

This is more than a book.

It’s a homeplace for the strong friend.