Email: vsmith@pewtrusts.org

Address:
Washington, D.C.

Velma Smith joined The Pew Charitable Trusts in 2008. As an officer of government relations for the Pew Environment Group, she supports a range of programs including public lands and mining reform, protection of Arctic resources and reform of industrial animal agriculture.

Before coming to Pew, Smith was a senior adviser with the National Environmental Trust, where she worked on issues including water pollution, regulation of mining and cleanup of hazardous waste. Previously, Smith served as executive director of Friends of the Earth, worked as a land-use planner with Loudoun County, Virginia, and was a legislative assistant to Rep. Rick Boucher of Virginia, handling environmental, energy and science matters. Smith has been a member of the Environmental Protection Agency’s National Drinking Water Advisory Council, the National Research Council’s Committee on Small Water Supply Systems and the Office of Technology Assessment’s Advisory Committee on Agrichemical Contamination of Groundwater. She also served on the Virginia State Water Control Board.

Smith holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Georgia and a master’s degree in urban and regional planning from the University of Virginia.