Luncheon Speaker’s Biography November 25, 2019

Anthony “Tony” Williams
Former Mayor of Washington, DC

Anthony (Tony) Williams, the former Mayor of Washington, D.C. (1999 – 2007), is widely credited with leading the comeback of Washington D.C. during his two terms as Mayor and before that as Chief Financial Officer. He helped to restore the finances of our nation’s capital, and improve the performance of government agencies, all while lowering taxes and investing in infrastructure and human services. Currently, he is the Chief Executive Officer of the Federal City Council.

The Washington Post reporter David Leonhardt, wrote that the Council has been at the forefront in promoting “almost every major downtown development project since World War II”, including Southwest urban renewal, the entire Washington Metro, the Pennsylvania Avenue Development Corporation, the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center, and the renovation of Union Station.

In addition to his duties with the Federal City Council, Mayor Williams is a Senior Advisor to King and Spaulding, LLP which “helps international clients successfully shape and navigate U.S. government regulations and enforcement.” He serves on several company boards as well as the boards of Urban Institute and the National Geographic Society. He is also the Vice President of the Cosmos Club.

Prior to the Federal City Council, he led the Global Government Practice at the Corporate Executive Board in Arlington, Virginia. He also taught public finance and urban leadership as the William H. Bloomberg Lecturer in Public Management at Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government while coordinating programs for the Municipal Innovation Program at the Ash Center for Democratic Governance and Innovation.

Before his service in local Washington, Tony worked in a variety of positions in federal, state, and local government, including as the first CFO for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, appointed by President Bill Clinton and confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

He holds a BA from Yale, an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School, and a J.D. from the Harvard Law School, as well as a number of awards and honorary degrees, including Governing Magazine Public Official of the Year in 1997. He is a fellow of the National Academy of Public Administration and former President of the National League of Cities.