Tehillah Enterprises PR Staff
Andrea R. Williams
President & Publicist
Tehillah Enterprises (pronounced teh-HEE-lah) was started by Andrea R. Williams, a former GRAMMY Awards employee, in 1999. She began the company because she felt a strong need to help publicize what was happening in the gospel community. "When I entered the gospel music industry, it was a learning process for me. In my desire to find out all I could about the industry, I located a wealth of information. But it seemed to me that it wasn't being shared. I felt there was so much information I knew was vital to many who felt the call of God on their lives to enter music ministry. It was at that point that I felt compelled to share what I had learned with others," says Williams.
It was her desire to give back a little of what God had given her that she decided to start Tehillah Enterprises. A gospel singer and songwriter, Williams has sung background with such artists as Byron Cage, Richard Smallwood, Jeff Majors and Kirk Franklin. In addition to singing, she has a passion for writing. Because of her unique ability to put pen to paper, she has received accolades, specifically for her e-zine, The Gospel News Update. In 2000, she received the Yaw Buama Award for "Outstanding Contributions In The Gospel Music Industry" from Gospel News TV in Alexandria, Virginia.
News from The Gospel News Update was included during its daily radio segment on the former Heaven 1580AM's Midday Show with Cheryl Jackson as well as during "Access Praise" on Radio One's Praise WPRS, Praise 104.1FM. She's also the author of the D.C. Gospel News Update, hitting thousands in the Washington, D.C./Baltimore, MD metropolitan area. DCGospelNewsUpdate.com, a complement to The D.C. Gospel News Update e-zine, is viewed by thousands each month and has extensive information in reference to gospel music in the Nation's Capital.
Williams has been cited in the Gospel Industry Roundup, The Bible of the Gospel Music Industry, as a "Mover & Shaker" on the Internet in the "On The Scene" section of the book for 2004 and 2005. From 2006 through 2011, she has been recognized in the same publication as a "Mover & Shaker" in the Washington, D.C. area alongside gospel notables Richard Smallwood, Jacquie Gales-Webb, Patrick Ellis and Cheryl Jackson.
Williams has been a freelance writer for Gospelcity.com, BlackGospel.com, Gospel Today Magazine, Charisma, Ministries Today, SpiritLed Woman and Xii Magazine. As an interviewer, she's interviewed dozens of popular artists including Kirk Franklin, Yolanda Adams, Kurt Carr, Donald Lawrence, Richard Smallwood, Tonex, Dorinda Clark-Cole, Byron Cage, CeCe Winans, Tye Tribbett, Smokie Norful, Martha Munizzi, Kim Burrell, J Moss, Hezekiah Walker, Jeff Majors, Daryl Coley, Tramaine Hawkins, Fred Hammond, Israel Houghton, Walter Hawkins, LaShun Pace, Bishop Paul S. Morton, and Dr. Bobby Jones.
She's been a guest panelist for many conferences and contests including the Kellogg's Gospel Sing-Off Competition, the National Gospel Artist Showcase, the Northeast Artist's Guild East Coast Music & Worship Conference, the Ministers Of Music Summit, the Bobby Jones Gospel Industry Retreat and the United States Army Entertainment Division's Stars Of Tomorrow Contests. She was also featured on Former NAACP Chair Kweisi Mfume's television show, "The Bottom Line", on their segment about the rising popularity of gospel music. In addition, she was a featured panelist for the 2006 Gospel Heritage Praise & Worship Conference in Washington, D.C. She was also included in former BET's Lift Every Voice Host Gerard Henry's book, Voices Of Inspiration, along with noted personalities like Yolanda Adams and Tonex. Tehillah Enterprises was also featured in the August 2005 edition of Gospel Today Magazine in the magazine article, "Untangling The Web".
A former 8-year employee of The Recording Academy (The GRAMMY Awards), she assisted in starting the D.C. Chapter - from the ground up - and making it the fastest growing GRAMMY Chapter in the history of the GRAMMY Awards. During her time with the popular industry association, she organized events with such mainstream artists as U2, Natalie Cole, John Mayer, Anthony Hamilton, Erykah Badu, India.Arie, Amy Grant, Vince Gill, Usher, Billy Taylor, Chris Brown, Raheem Devaughn, Chuck Brown, Nile Rodgers, Gloria Estefan, George Clinton, Bruce Hornsby, Jimmy Jam and dozens of others.
Also during her tenure at the GRAMMY Awards, she brought legends of gospel music into the Academy's membership ranks. Artists like Kim Burrell, Tonex, Tramaine Hawkins and Donald Lawrence & The Tri-City Singers became members at Williams' prompting. In addition, through her efforts, Donald Lawrence and Richard Smallwood not only became members of the Recording Academy, but ultimately, served on the national board giving gospel music a louder voice with one of music's most influential organizations.
Now a full-time gospel music publicist, Williams' efforts helped up-and-coming artist Earnest Pugh to debut on the Billboard Top Gospel charts. Her work throughout the years has exposed hundreds of gospel artists to thousands of potential fans. She's done publicity work with numerous artists including Alvin Slaughter, Byron Cage, Marvin Sapp, DeWayne Woods, Martha Munizzi, Mary Alessi, Steven Ford, Eddie James, Vickie Winans, Joann Rosario, Jonathan Butler, and others. She's been able to create publicity campaigns that have shined the light on some of today's finest artists securing countless radio interviews and placing them on covers of magazines and on national TV shows. Williams endeavors to continue bringing her expertise and insight to gospel music artists - both independent and major label. She formed Tehillah Enterprises Public Relations in August 2006 to do just that. "I believe the experiences I've had have prepared me to take the ministries of God's people to another level. Tehillah Enterprises' goal is to expose God's music to the world".
Andrea is the daughter of the late Rev. Dr. John T. Williams and Yvonne G. Williams. A member of Ebenezer AME Church in Fort Washington, MD, she is currently finishing up a degree in Music Performance at Northern Virginia Community College.
She can be reached at Andrea@TehillahEnterprisesPR.com.
Kimberly Jordan-Gaskins
Junior Publicist/Administrative Assistant
KimberlyJordan was born and raised in Washington, D.C. and attended the Duke Ellington School of the PerformingArts under the vocal instruction of Ms. Monica Otal and Mr. EdwardJackson. While Attending Ellington,Kimberly was a member of the "Show Choir" and was cast as the mother and in leadingroles in the stage play "Amahl & the Night Visitors".
Continuingher vocal training, Kimberly attended Kent State University majoring in Vocal MusicPerformance. Shortly after her firstyear of college, Kimberly was involved in an automobile accident that left herparalyzed from the waist down, however determined to overcome, Kimberlyendeavors to pursue her career as a soloist. She hasperformed throughout the Washington, D.C. Metropolitan area for many differentsocial events. Kimberly has become well-known for her powerful rendition and performance of "The National Anthem" inwhich she has had the opportunity to deliver on many occasions.
Kimberly has had the pleasure of accompanyingand recording with D.C.'s very own Isaiah Thomas and is featured on the CDproject "Worshipful Praise" as lead vocalist on the song entitled "HealingHands". Kimberly is also a dedicatedmember of the gospel group "Purpose" from Friendship Church Outreach Ministry,who are also featured on the "Worshipful Praise" project. Kimberly's strapping yet illuminating soundcaptivates and commands her audience's attention.
