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Douglas Andrew Smith

Assistant Secretary for the Private Sector:

Douglas Smith was confirmed as the Assistant Secretary for the Private Sector at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and served from October 2009 to November 2013.

In this role, Assistant Secretary Smith advised the Secretary on the impact of the Department's policies, regulations, and processes on 29 million private sector companies, universities, and not-for-profit institutions and enhances strategic communications in order to help the public and private sectors to jointly meet their shared responsibility for homeland security.

Assistant Secretary Smith served as the DHS representative on the President's Travel and Tourism Advisory Board, the President's Export Council, the White House Business Council, and the World Economic Forum Risk Officers Community.

Under his leadership, the DHS Private Sector Office (PSO) launched the Loaned Executive Program, which provides the opportunity for private sector subject matter experts from across sectors and industries to serve in a unique capacity on temporary rotation or sabbatical at DHS. PSO has also developed, and is in the process of implementing, the Private Sector Information Sharing Working Plan consisting of 16 recommendations that will enhance and align private sector engagement and information-sharing efforts across DHS.

Under Assistant Secretary Smith's leadership, the PSO led industry engagement for the Blue Campaign Against Human Trafficking, supports many of Customs and Border Protection's Trusted Traveler programs, such as Global Entry and SENTRI, and hosts quarterly DHS for a Day events.

Assistant Secretary Smith brought over 20 years of experience in business development, communications, coalition building, public policy, and creating and managing public-private partnerships among federal, state and local government, and private industry. He has managed large-scale special projects and initiatives both within and outside government.

Prior to his appointment at DHS, Assistant Secretary Smith was the Managing Partner of T Street Partners, where he provided strategic counsel and public affairs consulting to clients ranging from Fortune 100 companies to philanthropic and not-for-profit organizations. During his time with T Street, Assistant Secretary Smith successfully managed the winning campaign for the City of Chicago to be the U.S. Designate City for the 2016 Olympics.

Assistant Secretary Smith came to T Street partners from Leo Burnett Worldwide, where as a Vice President and account manager, he managed the then-new "Army of One" public relations/public affairs account for the U.S. Army.

During the Clinton Administration, Assistant Secretary Smith served in a variety of positions including as a Deputy Press Secretary and Director of Special Projects for Housing and Urban Development Secretary Andrew Cuomo, and as the traveling Press Secretary for Department of Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater.

Assistant Secretary Smith is a graduate of Beloit College where he received a bachelor's degree in international relations and Asian studies.

Last Updated: 07/26/2022
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