Stanley M. Williams

Stanley M. Williams is the CEO of the Santa Clara Valley Water District, responsible for implementing policies of the seven-member Board of Directors. He is accountable for all operational achievements and conduct of the District’s six hundred employees in their efforts to achieve the Board of Directors’ mission of enhancing the quality of life within Santa Clara County through practical, cost-effective and environmentally sensitive management of water resources. The Santa Clara Valley Water District is a countywide public agency providing a reliable, high-quality water supply and flood protection for Santa Clara County.

Williams has served as the Water District’s CEO since November 1994. He has led a number of organizational change efforts--including a long-term plan for ensuring Santa Clara County’s water supply through the year 2020, and flood protection projects that helped the county to have very little damage during the El Niño winter of 1998.


The District has developed a new approach to water resource management in which stewardship of the natural resources of the watersheds and streams in Santa Clara County is seen as a way of improving the quality of life. Similarly, there has been increased efforts to improve water quality and to prevent pollution. Collaborative efforts to resolve environmental disputes have kept District activities moving forward such as the Guadalupe River Flood Control and Park Project in San Jose. Financial management and data reporting systems have been improved to achieve greater accountability. The District’s Capital and Operating Budget has received the Government Finance Officers Association Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for four consecutive years.

Prior to becoming the CEO, Williams served as an Assistant General Manager at the District from 1990 to 1994, overseeing the Flood Control, Maintenance, Finance, Administrative Services and Clerk of the Board Departments.

Williams has more than 25 years of related experience in the public sector. He came to the District in 1990 from the City of Tulsa, Oklahoma where his work was recognized by the Federal Emergency Management Agency when that agency gave him an Outstanding Public Service Award for his role in developing the City of Tulsa Flood and Stormwater Management Program.

A resident of San Jose, Williams received his Juris Doctorate from the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. He also holds a masters degree in regional and city planning and a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Oklahoma. He is a graduate of Community Leadership San Jose and the Policy Governance Academy. He currently serves as the President of the Board for the Silicon Valley Pollution Prevention Center and as a Board Member of the United Way Silicon Valley.