Board of Directors

Mr. Williams, the former Mayor of Washington, D.C., is the Chief Executive Officer of Federal City Council, a nonprofit organization dedicated to the advancement of civic life in the nation’s capital. In his two terms as the mayor of Washington, D.C. from 1999 to 2007, he is credited with leading the city’s revitalization, restoring its finances and dramatically improving city services. As the independent Chief Financial Officer of the District of Columbia from 1995 to 1998, he worked with local officials, the D.C. Financial Control Board, and the U.S. Congress. He has held various positions in federal, state, and local government including serving as the first CFO for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, a position to which he was appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. A senior consultant on issues of municipal restructuring, Mr. Williams has served as the William H. Bloomberg Lecturer in Public Management at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Mr. Williams holds a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School, a Master’s degree in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government, and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Yale College, as well as a number of honorary degrees and awards, including the 2020 ULI Prize for Visionaries in Urban Development.