James Williams
Community Affairs Program Manager
Black Hills Energy

A fifth-generation Kansan, James joined Black Hills Energy in May 2019 and oversees the organization’s community outreach for the state. At Black Hills Energy, he manages customer communication, marketing, local government affairs and charitable giving totaling nearly $400,000 annually across the state.

He previously represented a Denver-based financial services company by managing its corporate communications and helped it be named “the Top Charitable Corporation in Colorado” and “Top Company for Families” by Fortune Magazine. Before that, James worked for Visit Wichita to lead the conversation about what to do about its convention center and helped bring the NCAA men’s basketball tournament back to the city. He started his career at the American Red Cross and would eventually be promoted to a national spokesperson for the organization.

James has served on multiple boards in the state including Medical Services Bureau, president of the Public Relations Society of America, the Kansas State University A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and the Wichita Arts Council. He is a graduate of Kansas State University, a father to two-year-old Ellanor, a husband to Lindsey, and enjoys discovering the best hidden gems of the 65 communities he serves at Black Hills Energy.