Anne Kelly Williams is a veteran public affairs strategist and management consultant who advises
organizations on board development and strategic planning, internal and external communications,
and fundraising.
Ms. Williams served as the Executive Director of The Policy Circle, a national grassroots public
policy network for women. Anne hired and managed the Policy Circle leadership team, directed
communications and investor relations, coordinated the legal, financial and audit programs and
instituted HR and governance policies.
Prior to directing The Policy Circle, Anne served as Executive Director of Charis, a national Jesuit
nonprofit offering spiritual programming to young adults throughout the continental United States.
At Charis, she drove a strategic rebrand and rebuild of the program and website, created new
programming and online materials, and ultimately negotiated the successful merger of the program.
Ms. Williams served as Associate Director of the White House Office of Private Sector Initiatives in
the Ronald Reagan Administration, coordinating public-private partnerships nationwide,
developing and implementing programs jointly with corporations, nonprofits and government
organizations. In this role, she served as the principal liaison to the Private Sector Initiatives
Presidential Board of Advisors, directed Presidential recognition programs and regularly
represented the President on issues concerning corporate social responsibility and public private
partnerships. From 1986 - 1988, she coordinated a series of White House international conferences
in France, Italy and Great Britain for government officials and business leaders.
Ms. Williams also served as the principal spokesperson for the Deputy U.S. Treasury Secretary John
Robson, managing communications dealing with the regulation of the Savings and Loan industry,
and the Resolution Trust Corporation, as well as the U.S. Treasury’s response to the 2001 Credit
Crunch.
Ms. Williams is a graduate of Georgetown University, and holds a graduate certificate from the Basic
Program of Liberal Arts Studies from the University of Chicago. She serves on the board of
directors of Catholic Charities of Chicago, the board of directors of The Fortnightly of Chicago, and is
one of 5 U.S. Commissioners on the Binational RIAS Berlin Commission. She previously served a 6
year term on the board of governors of Georgetown University.
Anne and her husband reside in Wilmette, Illinois, a suburb of Chicago.