Abigail Smith

Interim Executive Director

Abigail Smith has spent her entire professional career in the field of K-12 public education.  Most recently she served as  the Chief of Transformation Management for the District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS).  In that role, she oversaw strategic planning for the school district, the development and maintenance of district-wide performance management tools, and a variety of high-priority cross-cutting initiatives.  During her four years at DCPS, Abigail's diverse portfolio included school closures, early childhood expansion, the Race to the Top program, the district's out-of-boundary enrollment lottery, and the development of an online data and professional development platform for teachers.

Prior to her time at DCPS, Ms. Smith served as a special assistant to the District of Columbia's Deputy Mayor for Education, Victor Reinoso, where she advised him on high-priority issues related to the transition of mayoral authority over schools, the recruitment of a new chancellor for DCPS, and the development of K-12 educational priorities.

Before joining the District government, Ms. Smith served as Vice President of Research and Public Policy for Teach For America. In this position, she was responsible for implementing a research, evaluation and policy agenda for that national organization. In her 12 years with Teach For America, she also served as Vice President of National Training and Support, as Director of the pre-service training institute for incoming teachers, and as Executive Director of Teach For America’s Washington, DC site. She began her career as a first grade teacher in Weldon, North Carolina.

Education

Ms. Smith holds a master’s degree from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts from Yale University.

Personal

Abigail lives in the District of Columbia with her husband and two children.