Joanne N. Smith

Joanne N. Smith (she/her) is the founding President & CEO of Girls for Gender Equity (GGE). She moves GGE closer to its mission through strategic advocacy, development, and leadership cultivation. Ms. Smith is a Haitian-American social worker born in NY. A staunch human rights advocate, Smith co-chaired the nation’s first Young Women’s Initiative, a cross-sector Initiative coordinating government, philanthropic, and community efforts to create the conditions for cis, trans girls of color and GNC youth to thrive. Smith’s leadership helped to facilitate a $30M commitment from government and philanthropy to invest in community-driven recommendations.  Smith is the co-founder of The Black Girl Freedom fund, a 10-year initiative to invest 1 billion dollars into the advancement of Black girls. Smith is a steering committee member of Black Girl Movement and member of Move to End Violence -an initiative designed to strengthen the collective capacity to end gender-based violence in the United States. Smith is featured on the cover of YES! Magazine, Gender Justice issue Summer 2016, sharing her experience of intersectional feminism.  Joanne is an alumna of Hunter Graduate School of Social Work and Columbia Institute for Nonprofit Management. She has co-authored Hey Shorty: A Guide to Combating Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets. Girls for Gender Equity’s work to combat sexual harassment in schools is featured in the 2014 documentary Anita: Speak Truth to Power. Smith has received many awards including the Ms. Foundation 2018 Gloria Award as a Woman of Vision, a Commendation from NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer and Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies − Local Women Leading Change award. Smith resides in Brooklyn, NY.