Dr Jennifer Smith, is a retired Chief Equity Officer, Leadership Coach and Consultant. She started her career in education as a middle school math and computer teacher in the Pasadena Unified School District (PUSD) over 27 years ago. She later went on to become an elementary school principal in PUSD during which time her school proudly earned a California Gold Ribbon in 2016 for their Balanced Literacy approach which resulted in the highest growth in elementary reading scores for the district in 2018. Dr. Smith was awarded Elementary Principal of the Year in 2019 by the Association of Pasadena School Administrators. In 2019 Dr. Smith moved to LACOE in the College and Career Readiness/AVID unit primarily responsible for providing support for the LACOE Juvenile Court Schools. She was also a contributing editor to LACOE’s Supporting the African American Learner: A Guide to Transforming Beliefs, Systems, and Practices for Black Students publication. In 2022, Dr. Smith was selected as the first Assistant Superintendent of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) for the Culver City Unified School District. Her accomplishments included the development of the district’s Black Student Achievement Plan (BSAP), formation of the LGBTQIA Task Force and spearheading the district’s first Pride in Park event, as well as creating the Amplify Student Voice Awards to spotlight members of the community that demonstrated a commitment to amplify and uplift diverse and intersecting voices. Dr. Smith has a passion for deeply understanding and addressing the roles that intersecting social identities play to inform leadership perspective and practices.