Karen Hastie Williams is a graduate of Bates College and the Catholic University School of Law. She was a law clerk to Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall and Judge Spottswood W. Robinson III of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. She also served as Chief Counsel to the United States Senate Committee on the Budget, and as Administrator of the Office of Federal Procurement Policy in the Office of Management and Budget. She is currently a retired partner in the Washington law firm of Crowell & Moring LLP where her law practices focuses on public contract law, legislation, and strategic diversity counseling for corporate clients.

Karen is a frequent lecturer on many issues related to public contract law at the Federal, state and local levels. From 1992-93 she served as Chair of the ABA Section of Public Contract Law. Karen is also a member of the National Contract Management Association, the Black Women Lawyers' Association, the National Bar Association, and the Women's Forum of Washington, DC.

Karen's community activities include service on the Board of Directors of the Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She is also a member of the Boards of Trustees of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, of Amherst College, and formerly of the National Cathedral School. She serves as Chair of the Black Student Fund, The BOLD ("Business Opportunities for Leadership Diversity") Initiative, and is a former Chair of the Greater Washington Research Center. From October, 2000 through September, 2003, Karen served with distinction as a Public Life Member of the Internal Revenue Oversight Board appointed by the President of the United States.

Karen serves currently as a member of the Boards of Directors of the Chubb Corporation, Continental Airlines, Inc., Gannett Company, Inc., Washington Gas Holdings Company, SunTrust Bank, and the Federal National Mortgage Association Foundation.

Education
Bates College, B.A., 1966
Tufts University, M.A., 1967
Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, J.D., 1973

Affiliations
Admitted to practice: District of Columbia, United States Supreme Court, D.C. District Court 

Speeches & Presentations
"Role and Responsibilities of Corporate Directors in Post Sarbanes-Oxley World," Business Law Section at ABA Annual Convention in Atlanta (August 2004). Panelist: Karen Hastie Williams.

"Public Service: A Professional Responsibility for Educated Women," Links, Inc. Triennial Convention - Atlanta, Georgia (July 2004). Keynote Speaker: Karen Hastie Williams.

"Martin Luther King: A Leader for all Seasons," MLK Observance at St. Thomas Synagogue (February 2004). Speaker: Karen Hastie Williams.