Karen Hastie Williams


Karen Hastie Williams is an American lawyer and company director.

Early life

Hastie Williams was born on September 30, 1944 in Washington, D.C. Her father, William H. Hastie, was the Governor of the U.S. Virgin Islands from 1946 to 1949.
Hastie Williams graduated from Bates College in 1966, where she earned a bachelor's degree. She earned a master's degree from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University in 1967, and a JD from the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law in 1973.

Career

Williams clerked for Spottswood William Robinson III in 1973–1974, and for Thurgood Marshall in 1974–1975. She worked for Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Kampelman, and became a partner at Crowell & Moring.
Hastie Williams was chief counsel of the United States Senate Committee on the Budget from 1977 to 1980, and administrator for Federal Procurement Policy in the United States Office of Management and Budget from 1980 to 1981, under President Jimmy Carter. She served on the Internal Revenue Service's Oversight Board from 2000 to 2003, under President George W. Bush.
Hastie Williams served on the board of directors of Chubb Limited from 2000 to 2010, and SunTrust Banks from 2002 to 2011. She has also served on the boards of Crestar Bank and the Gannett Company.

Philanthropy

In 2005, Karen Hastie Williams became the first chair of the Folger Shakespeare Library's newly independent board of governors.

Personal life

Hastie Williams is married to Wesley S. Williams, Jr., a lawyer and priest.