Kate Williams | CEO, 1% for the Planet

Kate Williams is CEO of 1% for the Planet, a global movement inspiring businesses and individuals to support environmental nonprofit solutions, through annual membership and everyday actions. Kate stepped into her role at 1% for the Planet in May 2015 bringing a strong track record as a leader, including roles as Board Chair of the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), as Executive Director of the Northern Forest Canoe Trail, as founder and owner of a farm business enterprise, and as an elected political leader in her community. Kate currently serves on the boards of the Northern Forest Center and Shelburne Farms.

Kate is motivated by her deep passion for and commitment to the power of collective action, which is at the core of 1% for the Planet’s model and approach. “When people come together across traditional boundaries to solve complex problems, they create stronger, more ethical, and more lasting solutions,” she says. “It is my best hope that I can lead by creating and supporting these kinds of powerful connections.”

Kate earned a BA at Princeton University where she majored in history, and an MS at the MIT Sloan School of Management where she focused on systems and organizational dynamics. Kate is a master's marathon runner, hiker, and gardener, and when she is not able to be outside she is an avid reader and vegan cook. Kate lives in Vermont with her husband and two children.