Whitney Williams is an American businesswoman and political candidate. In October 2019, Williams announced her candidacy for the

2020 Montana gubernatorial election The 2020 Montana gubernatorial election was held on November 3, 2020, to elect the next governor of Montana, concurrently with the U.S. presidential election, as well as elections to the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives and vario ...

. She was eliminated in the primaries.

Early life and education

Williams is a sixth-generation Montana native. She is the daughter of the former Montana Senate Majority Leader Carol Williams and former Congressman Pat Williams. ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' has referred to the Williams family as the “first family of Montana politics.” Williams earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the

University of Montana The University of Montana (UM) is a public research university in Missoula, Montana. UM is a flagship institution of the Montana University System and its second largest campus. UM reported 10,962 undergraduate and graduate students in the fa ...

where she studied political science, forestry, and Native American studies.

Career

Williams then worked in the Clinton Administration, first as an intern, and then as Trips Director for First Lady

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

. Williams later served as Finance Co-Chair in

Washington Washington commonly refers to: * Washington (state), United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A metonym for the federal government of the United States ** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...

for the

Hillary Clinton 2008 presidential campaign The 2008 presidential campaign of Hillary Rodham Clinton, then junior United States senator from New York, was announced on her website on January 20, 2007. Hillary Clinton was previously the First Lady of the United States and First Lady of ...

. Williams is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

. In 2001, she joined Casey Family Programs and helped establish the $600 million

Marguerite Casey Foundation Marguerite Casey Foundation is a private, independent grantmaking foundation located in Seattle, Washington. The foundation (originally called Casey Family Grants Program) was created in 2001 by Casey Family Programs. Marguerite Casey Foundation ...

. Since 2003, Williams has served as Founder and CEO of williamsworks, a Montana-based consultancy agency. The firm has provided strategic services to non-profit, philanthropic, and corporate clients, including Toms Shoes, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Nike Foundation, the

Wikimedia Foundation The Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., or Wikimedia for short and abbreviated as WMF, is an American 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in San Francisco, California and registered as a charitable foundation under local laws. Best know ...

, and Thorn. Williams is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Philanthropy

Williams previously served on the board of trustees for the Glacier National Park Fund, the Boards of Directors for

City Year City Year is an American education nonprofit organization founded in 1988. The organization partners with public schools in 29 high-need communities across the US and through international affiliates in the UK and Johannesburg, South Africa. Ci ...

Seattle an
New Futures
In 2010, Williams co-founded

Eastern Congo Initiative The Eastern Congo Initiative (ECI) is an American nonprofit organization established by Ben Affleck and Whitney Williams in 2010 as "the first U.S.-based advocacy and grant-making initiative wholly focused on working with and for the people of eas ...

with

Ben Affleck Benjamin Géza Affleck (born August 15, 1972) is an American actor and filmmaker. His accolades include two Academy Awards, three Golden Globe Awards and a Volpi Cup. Affleck began his career as a child when he starred in the PBS education ...

and serves on the Board as Vice-Chair. In 2021, Whitney founded the Snowbird Fund, which is a first of its kind fund giving direct financial support to Montana Native families conducting community searches for their missing loved ones.

Politics

On October 3, 2019, Williams announced her candidacy for

Governor of Montana The governor of Montana is the head of government of MontanaMontana Constitution, Article VI, Section 4. and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has a duty to enforce state laws, the power to either approve or veto ...

2020 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in t ...

, receiving an endorsement from former Governor

Brian Schweitzer Brian David Schweitzer (born September 4, 1955) is an American farmer and politician who served as the 23rd Governor of Montana from 2005 to 2013. Schweitzer served for a time as chair of the Western Governors Association as well as the Democra ...

. She faced off against incumbent lieutenant governor

Mike Cooney Michael R. Cooney (born September 3, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 36th lieutenant governor of Montana from 2016 to 2021. He previously served in the Montana House of Representatives (1977–1981), as the secretary of state of ...

on June 2, 2020, where she lost getting 45.14% of the vote. Cooney went on to lose the election to U.S. representative Greg Gianforte.

References

External links

Campaign websitewilliamsworks Twitter feedFund instituted to help Native families find missing peopleSnowbird Fund aims to help MMIP families with immediate funds
{{DEFAULTSORT:Williams, Whitney American philanthropists Businesspeople from Montana Women in Montana politics Living people Montana Democrats University of Montana alumni Year of birth missing (living people) Candidates in the 2020 United States elections 21st-century American women