Stephanie Smith

Fulcrum Fellows

2017 - 2018

Focus Area:
Community and Economic DevelopmentRacial Equity
StephanieSmith
Baltimore Department of Planning
Assistant Director for Equity, Engagement, and Communications
Baltimore, Maryland

Stephanie Smith is an Assistant Director for Equity, Engagement and Communications in the City of Baltimore’s Department of Planning. In this role, Stephanie leads the implementation of the agency’s Equity in Planning Action Plan and its overall communications program. Prior to joining municipal government leadership, Stephanie worked in the federal policy arena advancing public health, voting rights, affordable housing, and environmental justice for the most vulnerable communities. A former Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Fellow, Stephanie is passionate about including the views and voices of underrepresented populations in policymaking because she knows that “if you aren’t at the table, then you’re on the menu!” Active in her local Baltimore community, Stephanie has served on a host of nonprofit boards and currently serves as a Commissioner on the Baltimore Community Relations Commission (CRC), which combats unlawful discrimination in employment, public accommodation, housing, education, and health and welfare services. Stephanie is a proud graduate of Hampton University (BA), the University of Delaware (MA), and the Howard University School of Law (JD). A member of the Maryland Bar Association, Stephanie and lives in East Baltimore with her husband and toddler son.

During the Fellowship

Stephanie focused on her new position’s charge to operationalize the Equity Action Plan and enlist the support of other Baltimore agency leadership to establish an action-oriented, interagency work group on equity.