Marvin Smith is the Chief Public Affairs Officer for AERDF. In his current role, Smith leads external alliance building strategy and external communications to drive support for inclusive R&D as a powerful means of collaboratively addressing challenges within PreK-12 education, especially those that impact Black and Latino learners. He previously led resource development, stakeholder engagement and communications as Chief External Officer for Teaching Trust, a nonprofit that provided practice-based training and coaching for school leaders and their teams. Prior to that, Smith managed federal advocacy for KIPP Foundation, helping to amplify the influence of educators and students on policy issues important to them. He has devoted his career to working with leaders at various levels to expand access to great schools through roles in fundraising, advocacy and philanthropy. Smith is a proud member of Education Leaders of Color (EdLoC). He lives in Dallas, TX with his wife and daughter.