Susan Richardson Williams

Community Relations Consultant

Susan Richardson Williams has spent 35 years in the public and private sectors working primarily in the government and community relations arenas and is well-known in the region as a leader in public affairs and business.  In addition to years of expertise, Susan brings her relationships within government, industry, and the media to her clients, which include the URS Corporation, The Energy Foundation, Sustainable Future, LLC, Strata-G, MTR, Inc., Merit Construction, East Tennessee Quality Growth, Northeast Knox Utility District, and The Utility Management Federation.

Prior to launching SRW & Associates, Susan managed the Knoxville office of The Ingram Group, a statewide public relations firm. She has been in the cabinet of two governors and on the staff of a third. She was a Tennessee press representative for a United States Senator and was elected chair of the Tennessee Republican Party. Williams also served for eight years as associate athletics director with the University of Tennessee Lady Vols.

In 2006, Susan was nominated by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate as a member of the Tennessee Valley Authority Board of Directors. During her term, she led efforts to establish a new land policy for TVA, which resulted in her being named “Land Conservationist of the Year” by the Tennessee Wildlife Federation.

She served 12 years on the University of Tennessee’s Board of Trustees where she chaired the Advancement and Communications Committee and also served on the executive committee. She is a current board member and president of the East Tennessee Historical Society, a member of the Executive Women’s Association, and a former board member of the Knoxville Opera Company, and alumnus of Leadership Knoxville. She also currently serves on the Knoxville Chamber Board of Directors and the Government Relations Committee. Susan is also a regular panelist on WBIR-TV’s Inside Tennessee, a weekly political insiders’ television show and appears regularly as a commentator on local radio talk shows. In 2007 and 2008, Susan was listed on the “Top 100 Most Powerful Tennesseans” in the “Business TN” magazine, one of only s few women in East Tennessee. Her service on both the TVA and UT Boards was unique in Tennessee’s history.

Susan grew up in Savannah, Tennessee and holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Tennessee. She is married to Dick Williams of Greeneville and has three grown children. She and Dick are currently raising their 10 year-old grandson, Jordan. In her spare time, Susan enjoys genealogy, the beach, golf, reading, and politics.