Born in the wild west of China, Sichuan province near Tibet, and raised with her two brothers by illiterate working-class parents, Lily Williams grew up facing poor living conditions, food rationing, and political and social chaos. In this tumultuous environment, she quickly developed street smarts and compassion as well as the values of perseverance and hard work. At 17, Lily graduated at the top of her high school class and placed near the top of the national exams. She was one of only three students from her province of 80 million people to be accepted to Fudan university law school that year, one of China's top five universities.
Lily received her university law degree at Fudan University in Shanghai, practiced law and joined the Law faculty at Fudan. She came to the U.S. in 1988 to earn a Master's degree at the University of Texas at Austin, School of Social Work with a minor in Administration and Planning. She has had a varied career as a social worker, corporate executive, small business owner, and in politics. She joined the Libertarian Party in 2008 because she felt the Republican Party was abandoning principles of liberty. She currently is the State Director for Our America Initiative, a nonprofit organization (www.ouramericainitiative.com). Repealing Common Core is one of their grassroots projects in Colorado.