About

Ja’Ron Smith served in several roles at the White House, including Deputy Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, Deputy Director for the Office of American Innovation, and Director of Urban Affairs and Revitalization for The White House Domestic Policy Council. During that time, his efforts included leading the legislative effort around criminal justice reform and the First Step Act, authoring Executive Orders and other impactful initiatives on issues related to safe policing and access to capital for minority-owned businesses. He also served as chief policy strategist for enactment of the “Opportunity Zones” provision of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Mr. Smith was a key negotiator in helping to secure permanent funding for HBCUs under the FUTURE Act. Prior to his post at The White House, he worked for Senator Tim Scott and served on the staff of the House Committee on Financial Services, the Republican Study Committee, the House Republican Conference under then-Rep. Mike Pence, and in the office of Rep. JC Watts. He is the former Executive Director of the Thurgood Marshall Foundation’s Center for Advancing Opportunity. Mr. Smith holds a BBA from Howard University, and a Masters of Divinity from the Howard School of Divinity. He is a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha.