POLITICAL BACKGROUND
Smith is a Democratic member of the North Carolina State Senate, representing District 3 – Beaufort, Bertie, Martin, Northampton, Vance and Warren counties. She was first elected to the NC General Assembly in 2014 making history as the first woman to serve the district in the Senate. Her prior political experience includes Northampton County Board of Education Member (2008-2014), Northampton County Democratic Party Chair and First-Vice Chair (2006-2013). Smith was unopposed in both the Democratic primary and general elections in 2016. Smith holds leadership as the Co-Chair of the Joint Legislative Women’s Caucus, bipartisan caucus of House and Senate members for the 2017-2019 biennium. She also serves as the Second Vice-Chair of the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus for the 2017-2019 Session. Sen. Smith was selected by the State Employees’ Association of North Carolina as the Freshman Legislator of the Year in 2016 and the Lillian’s’ List Political Courage Award Recipient in 2017.
Smith is active in many philanthropic activities, including member of the Northampton County Branch of the NAACP, Halifax County Branch of NAUW and the Enfield-Roanoke Rapids Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc.
She is an ordained clergy member and serves as Associate Servant at Cool Spring Missionary Baptist Church in Gaston NC where she was licensed in 2001. Following catechism, she was ordained in 2002 through the Northampton County and Vicinity Missionary Baptist Association, General Baptist State Convention – North Carolina, National Baptist, USA. She embraces the prophet Jeremiah’s Hope in Lamentations 3:22-24 “The Lord’s loving kindness indeed never ceases, compassions never fail, and are new every morning.
Great is Thy Faithfulness, Lord unto me!” A diligent servant leader, Smith is the immediate past First-Vice Moderator of the Association and the only woman in the Association’s 135+ year history elected to serve in a Moderator capacity. She has a strong Judeo-Christian heritage that fuels her commitment to community building, social justice and equal access advocacy.
EDUCATIONAL BACKGROUND
Smith had the wonderful experience of receiving her diploma from the NC School of Science and Mathematics, a residential high school for academically gifted students. She and her twin sister continued their love for science and math as engineering graduates from North Carolina A & T State University. After receiving her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering as a Chancellor and Boeing Scholar, Smith worked her way up from Student Engineer to Senior Specialist Engineer for the Boeing Company in Seattle, Washington. Smith received her Master of Arts in Religious Studies from Howard University, graduating with highest honors in 2000. Smith is endorsed in Secondary Mathematics and Chemistry in both the Commonwealth of Virginia and North Carolina. She has also completed post graduate studies in Religion, Christian Ethics, Education Leadership and Law.