ABOUT CAROL

Carol Griffith Williams

Carol Williams has had a long career as an activist, peacemaker, educator, mother and grandmother. As a fifth generation Montanan, her professional and personal lives have been dedicated to ensuring that the next generations of Montanans have a bright future.

Utilizing her education degree from Western Montana College, Williams began her career as a Head Start teacher in her hometown of Butte. From here grew her commitment to the importance of providing a quality education to the children of Montana.

As the daughter of former Butte Mayor Hanna Griffith and his wife Celeste McCall-Griffith, her introduction to Montana politics came very early. From these roots, she went on to serve as Secretary to the Chief Clerk, Bills Coordinator of the Montana State House of Representatives, and, at the request of former governor Tom Judge, as a member of the Council on the Status of Women.

In 1982, Williams was a founding member of the national board of Peace Links, a Washington DC based international women’s organization dedicated to expanding the role of women in the discussion of U.S. national security issues and the importance of dialogue between women from the countries of the former Soviet Union, China, Japan, East Germany, the Czech Republic and Hungary. In addition to remaining on the board until 1999, Williams served as the organization’s executive director from 1985-1997. During her tenure, she developed and implemented a series of educational and environmental exchanges with women from around the world and was a delegate for the 1995 UN Conference on the Status of Women in Beijing.

Williams is an active member of the Missoula community where she lives. She served in the 1999 Legislative session as Democratic member of the Montana State House of Representatives on behalf of House district 69 in Missoula County. She served on the Judiciary, Human Services and State and Federal Relations Committees, and was appointed to the State Administration Interim Committee. Currently she serves on the Committee to Rename the Montana “Squaw” Geographic features. In 2000, Carol was the Democratic nominee for Lt. Governor.

Williams is married to Former Montana Congressman Pat Williams, who teaches at the University of Montana. She has three children, Griff, Erin and Whitney, a son-in-law Joe Easton, a daughter-in-law Christine Treadway and two wonderful grandsons, Keelan, Aidan, and Fiona.

Honors

Williams has been honored for her leadership and dedication to Montana and international understanding by the following organizations:

Western Montana College Alumni of the Year Award 1990
Taking Action for Peaceful Solutions: Peacemaker of the Year Award, Butte 1995
Peace Links International Woman of Vision Award, Washington D.C. 1996
Institute for Peace Studies, Rocky Mountain College: Jeannette Rankin Peace Award, Billings 1997
Received along with her husband, Pat, the Montana Trial Lawyers Association Public Service 2002
National Peace Foundation Award Washington DC 2002
Jeanette Rankin Award, Montana ACLU Helena, 2003
Montana Nurses Association, Friend of Nursing Award, 2005
Business and professional Women, Missoula Woman of the Year, 2005
Installed as a lifetime member of the Montana Association of the Blind for efforts on their behalf in the 2005 Legislative Session

Community Involvement

Williams is active in a variety of organizations throughout Missoula County and the greater Montana community including: