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Judy Smith

For more than 25 years, Judy Smith has counseled presidents and world leaders through global crises, advised Fortune 50 CEOs through complex challenges, and helped manage the reputations of some of the world’s highest-profile individuals. In 1993, she founded Smith & Company, a strategic advisory firm considered to be one of the top crisis firms in the world with offices in Washington D.C., Los Angeles, New York and London.  

Judy has brought her unique combination of communication skills, media savvy, legal and political acumen to clients facing a wide array of issues and challenges throughout the United States and abroad. She honed her skills through her experiences with some of the most historic and sensational events of our time, including the Iran Contra investigation, the prosecution of former Washington D.C. Mayor Marion Barry, the 1991 Gulf War, the Los Angeles riots, the President Clinton scandal involving Monica Lewinsky, the congressional inquiry of Enron, the General Petraeus CIA scandal, the Sony Corporation hacking crisis, as well as the the United Nations Foundation and World Health Organization response to the SARS epidemic. Additionally, she currently serves as a trusted advisor at the forefront of the COVID-19 outbreak.

In addition to her work as a communications advisor during high-profile moments, Judy is a longtime counselor to some of the world’s largest and most influential companies such as Amazon, Facebook, Panera, Lowes, Sony, Kaiser, United Healthcare and Walmart. She provides her clients with strategic advice on a variety of corporate communications issues such as mergers and acquisitions, product recalls, intellectual property litigation, corporate positioning, diversity and other corporate, investor and public relations matters. 

A former federal prosecutor, Judy worked in the U.S. Attorney’s office for the District of Columbia as well as the Office of the Independent Counsel, where she handled high-profile investigations. Ms. Smith has served as Deputy Press Secretary to President George H.W. Bush, during which time she worked on a host of domestic and international issues. Ms. Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in public relations from Boston University and a Juris Doctorate from the American University Washington College of Law, where she was the first Black woman to serve on the Executive Board of the Law Review.

Judy’s advice and counsel has been valuable to corporate boardrooms, and she currently serves on the board of the Washington National Cathedral. Judy has received numerous communications and leadership awards and is active in community service.       

She joined the Board in 2021. She is a member of the Marketing Committee.