Biography
Mary Smith is President of the American Bar Association (ABA) and is the first Native American woman in this role. Recognizing that there are serious threats to American Democracy, Ms. Smith created the Task Force for American Democracy as one of her Presidential initiatives. Ms. Smith is an independent board member and former C-suite executive. Smith currently serves on the board of PTC Therapeutics, Inc. (NASDAQ: PTCT) , a global biopharmaceutical company, where she sits on the audit and compensation committees. Her background includes experience in governance, technology, compliance, government affairs, public policy, and regulatory experience. Previously, Smith was the CEO of the Indian Health Service, a $6 billion national healthcare system that serves over 2 million persons where she oversaw the development of an operational framework that utilized data analytics to improve services, allocate resources, and develop the workforce. Ms. Smith is also Vice Chair of the VENG Group. Earlier in her career, she served as an attorney at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, as a senior in-house counsel at Tyco International, and in the U.S. government, both as Associate Counsel to the President in the White House and as a trial attorney at the U.S. Department of Justice. Ms. Smith is a past National Secretary of the ABA and a former president of the National Native American Bar Association. She is also the founder and president of the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation, an organization that promotes Native American girls in STEM. Ms. Smith has received numerous awards and recognitions including being named a 2023 Business Leader of Color by Chicago United, a 2023 Director to Watch, and the 2023 Cherokee National Statesmanship Award.