About Kathleen

"Kathleen Williams is remarkably effective in the complex and challenging work of the Montana Legislature. She brings experience, her good intellect, and a willingness to communicate across political lines with a grace that often makes the difference. I encourage you to support her election to Senate District 31."

- Sen. Bob Hawks

A Proven Problem-Solver for Montana

State Senate candidate Kathleen Williams believes that Montanans deserve an experienced, creative, and thoughtful problem-solver fighting for them in the Legislature. Throughout her career, and 30+ years in Montana, Kathleen has brought diverse interests together to solve the thorniest of problems – stream health and water rights, accessible health care, economic opportunities, and fostering the success of our families, businesses, and communities.

A middle-aged man with white hair, glasses, and a dark jacket stands beside a woman with gray hair, glasses, and a colorful floral blazer. They are outdoors on a grassy area with trees and shrubs, possibly a golf course, with the ocean in the background.

Family, Service, and Early Lessons

Kathleen was raised with a strong work ethic and dedication to service. Her father served in WWII and later built a career as a general contractor. Her mother left Kansas at age 18 to work in the Navy shipyards. Her late husband, Tom, also a veteran, spent his career working with farmers and ranchers to improve soil and water quality.

A woman and a young girl enjoying a boat ride on a lake, with both wearing summer clothing and the girl sporting a large straw hat.

A Personal Healthcare Story

When Kathleen was 11, her mother Marie started to lose her memory; she would get lost while driving, and Kathleen would ride her bike out to find her and help her home. Age 49 was so young for Alzheimer’s. For eight years, Kathleen and her father would be Marie’s primary caregivers. Kathleen offered to delay college to continue to help, but the seizures were getting such that Marie could no longer be kept at home, succumbing to the disease in 1980. Marie was lucky to have health care her family could afford, but too many Montanans are not so lucky.

A person and a dog watching a sunset by a body of water.

Finding Home in Montana

Fast forward to an internship in DC, work with several consulting firms, graduate school in Colorado, and then positions in Oregon with the National Park Service and US Forest Service – Kathleen’s career and exploration of the West kept expanding. Yearning to be back in the mountains and rivers of the Intermountain West, a resource analyst job with the Montana Legislature was all she needed to pack up a U-Haul and her dog in 1995 and land in Montana: the first place that ever felt like home.

Woman wearing a knit cap and glasses paddling a yellow boat on a river surrounded by rocky cliffs and green trees.

Public Service and Natural Resource Leadership

Kathleen served as non-partisan lead staff to Legislators for water, mining, and outdoor recreation policy, and staffed the House Natural Resource Committee and Environmental Quality Council. She later served Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks as their statewide Water Program Manager, where she negotiated complex deals to rewater streams while benefiting water users as well as priority fisheries. She advanced Montana’s instream flow water policy, and led the effort to enact Montana’s Hoot Owl rules to respond to fishery stress in drought.

A political campaign sign for Kathleen Williams, a Democrat, in a field with mountains in the background during sunset.

Leadership, Nonprofits, and a Call to Run

Kathleen earned a reputation as a strategic leader, building two non-profits and helping other organizations plan strategically and increase program efficiency. While she worked with an organization of farmers and ranchers across the North American West, Tom decided to take a Foreign Agriculture Service assignment in Iraq. In his absence, she found herself watching too many Law and Order reruns, while at the same time conducting workshops on how citizens can interact with their Legislature. A current legislator approached her about running, which began her three terms in the Montana House of Representatives.

A woman with glasses holding a microphone and reading from a piece of paper at a meeting or conference, with an American flag and other attendees visible in the background.

Legislative Experience and Committee Work

In the Legislature, Kathleen vice-chaired the House Taxation and Agriculture committees as well as the Water Policy Interim Committee, and served on the Natural Resources, Rules, and Government Efficiency committees as well as other advisory groups and ad hoc committees. She fought for University interests and funding, including for the redevelopment of Romney Hall.

Six people gathered around a man in a suit sitting at a table, appearing to be at a formal meeting or event, with three women and two men standing behind him.

Delivering Results for Montanans

She successfully passed legislation that saved the lives of cancer patients, created hundreds of new businesses through Montana’s first Cottage Food Law, resolved water rights and stream issues for all of western Montana through the CSKT Water Compact, attracted mission-oriented entrepreneurs to the state via a new type of corporate structure option, and advanced countless other efforts to benefit Montanans, our livelihoods, and our shared communities.

A man and a woman standing outdoors near a lake, holding two dogs, with mountains and trees in the background during daytime.

Loss, Resilience, and Family

In January of 2016, Kathleen and Tom decided she wouldn’t run again for a fourth term; instead, they would travel the West together working with farmers and ranchers. Five days later, Tom collapsed while backcountry skiing and couldn’t be revived. The world lost an incredible father, husband, friend, and natural resource professional that day. Kathleen continues to support and fight for the causes they championed together - fish/wildlife habitat and public lands; mental health; and sustainable agriculture.

Kathleen Williams was candidate for Congress, smiling as she addresses an audience.

Continuing the Call to Serve

Continuing her commitment to Montana and creative policy solutions, Kathleen turned to her next chapter – a 2018 run for the U.S. House, where she came the closest in over 20 years to unseating an incumbent. Feeling the work incomplete, she continued her quest to represent Montana in Congress in 2020, but was stymied by COVID and all the challenges the pandemic brought to her campaign style of meeting with anyone, anywhere, racking up over 100,000 miles on her car and camper.

Kathleen Williams walking with farmers on their land, discussing agriculture and working landscapes in Montana.

Serving Rural and Tribal Montana

The latest step in her service was serving for three years as Montana State Director for USDA Rural Development, where she worked to extend infrastructure, housing, telecommunications, and business opportunities in rural and Tribal Montana, focusing on those families, businesses, and communities that had been most left behind by other investment programs. Countless Montanans, our communities, and our economy continue to benefit from her team’s work.

Kathleen Williams hunting, holding a rifle, standing in a grassy field with hay bales and a turkey at her feet. She is wearing an orange cap and sunglasses, with a blue jacket and tan vest.

Life Outside the Legislature

Kathleen hunts and fishes, hikes and canoes, and values sustainable public access to the incredible rivers and mountains that all Montanans have the right to utilize and the responsibility to protect. She enjoys cycling, music, and a good two-step. Kathleen is step-mom to two adult boys, Gramma K to two granddaughters, and best friend to the sweetest Humane Society graduate – a black lab named Maisey.

Kathleen Williams with her grand daughter. Kathleen is running for state senate district 31.

Looking Ahead

Kathleen now turns her storied and dedicated career back to the Legislature. To bring those decades of listening, strategizing, relationship-building, policy knowledge, and perseverence back to the biggest challenges we face today: how to ensure a livable and affordable Montana for current and future generations.

Please join us on this journey by volunteering, contributing, and telling others about Kathleen’s skills, dedication, and ability to cut through hyper-partisanship, so we all can enjoy creative and lasting policy solutions for Montana.

Kathleen Williams for Montana State Senate in rural Montana outside of Bozeman.