Dana O. Williams is a Senior Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at Northern Trust in Chicago. Dana supports global Human Resources groups, providing legal advice and counsel to the Human Resources Consulting Function, Employee Relations, Talent Acquisition, Global Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and the Human Resources Service Center, regarding all aspects of the employee lifecycle. Dana also manages pending and threatened employment litigation against the company.

Prior to joining Northern Trust, Dana practiced in the Chicago office of Seyfarth Shaw LLP in the Labor and Employment and Litigation, Trade Secrets and Corporate Espionage groups, primarily defending Fortune 500 employers in state and federal court litigation. Dana also worked in the Chicago office of Sonnenschein, Nath and Rosenthal LLP (n/k/a Dentons) in the Litigation group.

Dana has a B.A. in African-American Studies from Dartmouth College, and a J.D. from Georgetown University.

For over ten years, Dana has been an active member of the board of Primo Center, a provider of permanent and transitional housing to homeless women and children on Chicago’s South and West Sides. Dana was recently appointed to the board of CARPLS, Cook County’s largest provider of free legal aid services.

Dana is currently serving as Co-Chair of the Women of Color Alliance within Northern Trust’s Women in Leadership Business Resource Council.

Dana is also a Leadership Greater Chicago Class of 2022 Fellow.

Dana lives in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago with her husband and three children.