CEO, AmeriCorps
Michael D. Smith is the eighth CEO of AmeriCorps, the federal agency dedicated to improving lives, strengthening communities, and fostering civic engagement through service and volunteering. He was nominated by President Biden and confirmed by the United States Senate in 2021. Smith has dedicated his career to social justice and public service focused on reducing barriers and expanding opportunity for underserved children and communities. Smith has led the agency to increase its focus on: investing in what works, uniting individuals through service, and centering diversity, equity and inclusion in the agency’s investment and recruitment strategy. Before taking the helm of AmeriCorps, Smith served as executive director of the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and director of Youth Opportunity Programs at the Obama Foundation. He also served in the Obama White House as special assistant to the president and senior director of Cabinet affairs, overseeing the My Brother’s Keeper initiative and interagency task force. My Brother’s Keeper led to new federal policy initiatives and grant programs; tens of thousands of new mentors; more than 250 MBK communities; and, more than $1 billion in private sector and philanthropic investments. Smith previously served at AmeriCorps, as director of the Social Innovation Fund, and spent many years as a philanthropic leader, most recently serving as senior vice president of social innovation at the Case Foundation. Smith is a Senior Atlantic Fellow for Racial Equity and a member of Boys and Girls Clubs of America’s Alumni Hall of Fame, the highest honor bestowed by the organization.