Philadelphia, May 10, 2018—Reinvestment Fund’s Senior Policy Advisor, Patricia Smith, has been named President and CEO of The Funders’ Network for Smart Growth and Livable Communities, a robust network of more than 170 philanthropic foundations across the U.S. and Canada. Ms. Smith who has been with Reinvestment Fund for more than a decade will be assuming her new role in July.
“It has been a tremendous honor to work with Pat through the many roles she has played with Reinvestment Fund over the years,” said Don Hinkle-Brown, President and CEO of Reinvestment Fund. “She has known us since our founding and has deeply influenced some of our most iconic work from our Market Value Analysis to our healthy food financing. She will be missed greatly but we look forward to following her success in her new role.”
Ms. Smith was among the civic leaders in Philadelphia who helped found Reinvestment Fund and she went on to serve as the co-chair of Reinvestment Fund’s first Board of Directors. In the early 2000s, Ms. Smith worked for Mayor Street’s administration at the City of Philadelphia. During that time, she became the client for Reinvestment Fund’s first ever Market Value Analysis (MVA). Reinvestment Fund has since gone on to develop over 30 MVAs for cities ranging from Baltimore, MD to Dallas, TX.
In 2005, Ms. Smith joined Reinvestment Fund as its Director Special Initiatives, working on a range of strategic projects. In 2009, she assumed the role of Senior Policy Advisor, leading efforts related to public policy issues. She has led the Reinvestment Fund’s efforts to improve access to healthier foods in underserved urban and rural communities and is a well-regarded advisor on healthy food financing programs across the country. Ms. Smith was instrumental in expanding fresh food finance across the CDFI industry and helped secure over $243 million in federal funding for that work.
In addition to her work at Reinvestment Fund, Ms. Smith also volunteers with local Philadelphia organizations. She sits on the Board of Directors of the Pennsylvania Horticultural Society. In 2014, the President of the Philadelphia City Council appointed Ms. Smith to serve as his representative on the Philadelphia Museum of Art Board of Trustees.
Ms. Smith will commute for the time-being between Philadelphia, where she lives with her partner, Elbert Sampson, and the Funders’ Network headquarters in Coral Gables, near Miami, Fla.