Whitney Williams

Background

About Whitney Williams

Whitney Williams is a strategist, storyteller and leader in domestic and global development and social impact. For more than three decades, she has brought together extraordinary, diverse, and influential partners to drive bold, lasting change across philanthropy, advocacy and public policy worldwide.As founder and CEO of williamsworks, she advises individuals, foundations, and advocacy organizations, helping them to refine their goals and guiding strategic action to achieve them. Whitney’s deep expertise in strategy, government relations, social impact and grassroots advocacy informs creative, unique, and authentic solutions. Whitney is a co-founder of Eastern Congo Initiative, the first U.S-based advocacy and grant-making organization dedicated to supporting the people of Eastern Congo, directing millions of dollars in grants to dozens of community-based Congolese organizations and leading a broad U.S. and international advocacy agenda to advance sound public policy for the DRC.Believing in the central role the arts play in society, Whitney founded Full Glow Creative to tell powerful stories, support artists, and drive meaningful change. Full Glow creates and invests in storytelling with community at its center, working with artists whose perspectives expand how we see the world. Her career began in the White House with First Lady Hillary Rodham Clinton and on the senior staff of Casey Family Programs.Dedication to public service and the common good runs in Whitney’s family. Her mother, Carol Williams, was the first woman elected as both Majority and Minority Leader of the Montana Senate, and her father, Pat Williams, served nine terms as Montana’s distinguished congressman, the longest serving in Montana. In 2020, Whitney was a candidate for governor in her home state of Montana. She is also the founder of the Snowbird Fund, a first-of-its-kind fund providing direct financial support to Montana Native communities conducting community searches for their missing loved ones.Whitney is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a graduate of the University of Montana. She and her English Shepherd Seamus live in Missoula, Montana, where Whitney is an active volunteer serving on the Boards of José Andrés’ Longer Tables Fund, Eastern Congo Initiative & Carol’s List.