Lisha. B. Smith

Lisha B. Smith is a Principal at HC2 Strategies and the President & CEO of the LB Smith Group LLC, a boutique consulting firm that supports clients seeking to improve the overall health and well-being of our communities.

Lisha combines trusted relationships, servant leadership, and connection with her experience in the communications, public affairs, community and government relations spheres to bring people together to “help build the bridges” that lead to change.

While working with Webb Family Enterprise, Inc. (WFE), she facilitated convenings of Black-led organizations and allies to create pathways to provide equitable access to power and wealth in the Inland Empire. As principal consultant to the WFE’s Cooperative Economic Empowerment Movement (CEEM), Lisha introduced a community-level convening of San Bernardino County’s Equity Element Group (Group). She helped the Group identify and drive innovative strategies and solutions to achieve parity for the region’s Black community. She also connected CEEM leadership to county, state, and federal officials to raise awareness of CEEM initiatives and garner support for them.

As Deputy Chief of Staff to former San Bernardino County Board of Supervisor Josie Gonzales, Lisha advised on policy matters related to county public health services, First 5 San Bernardino, IEHP, and air quality issues. She also facilitated the Supervisor’s effective engagement with local nonprofits, faith-based community groups, and constituents.

While leading the South Coast Air Quality Management District Legislative and Public Affairs Office, Lisha and her team initiated innovative programs to help underserved residents advocate for their right to breathe clean air and live in healthy, sustainable communities. Three annual programs that align civil rights and environmental justice were launched during her tenure. The Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service Forum, started in 2013; the Cesar Chavez Day of Remembrance, in 2014; and the Environmental Justice Community Partnership, in 2015, continue to impact Southland communities.

 

Lisha earned her M.S. in Leadership and Management from the University of La Verne and her B.A. in English from Spelman College. On the other side of life, she loves reading, writing, time with family and friends, and road trips with her husband, Fred.