Private Sector Honoree

Claire M. Williams

Executive Vice President, KDM Engineering

Claire M. Williams is the Executive Vice President of KDM Engineering, a Minority, Women and Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (MBE/WBE/DBE) professional engineering firm focusing on power distribution design, gas distribution and telecommunications design. Recognized for her ability to identify opportunities and resolve problems before they become barriers, Claire combines leadership experience with keen listening and assessment skills, which help her manage diverse teams of professionals and meet business goals. Claire is a graduate of Rutgers University (B.S.), The University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey (CMT) and Central Michigan University (MSA). She joined Environmental Design International (EDI), headquartered in Chicago, in 1996 and served as President & COO of EDI from 2015-2019. During that time, her leadership experience and talent for collaboration resulted in the largest contract ever awarded to a M/W/DBE firm by the Illinois Department of Transportation for Phase III engineering services on a segment of the Dan Ryan Expressway. In a strategic career move, Claire left EDI in 2019 to join KDM Engineering as Executive Vice President and help drive its long-term business strategy to achieve its financial goals. Her focus on building teams—through intentional mentoring and personcentered coaching—consistently results in teams that go the extra mile for the sake of the whole. A fierce supporter and advocate of women and minority-owned businesses, Claire offers her expert insight into diversity through her involvement with the Women in Transportation (WTS) Diversity Committee. She has served as a mentor in the WTS Greater Chicago Chapter Mentorship Program. Claire is also an active member of the American Association of Blacks in Energy and a former Director-at-Large on the Lambda Alpha International Ely Chapter Board of Directors. She is a former member of the Board of Directors and Secretary for the Forest Preserve Foundation, where she was Co-Chair of their annual fundraiser.