Mary Smith, an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation, is Program Executive and Managing Director of Programs at the Asian & Pacific Islander American Health Forum (APIAHF), a national health justice organization which influences policy, mobilizes communities, and strengthens programs and organizations to improve the health of Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders.
Mary Smith is a former CEO-equivalent of a $6 billion national healthcare organization and
C-suite executive with 25+ years of business experience. She was also a member of the National Policy and Innovation Council for WellCare (NYSE: WCG) (now Centene) which advised the C-suite on strategic matters. She is building a board portfolio to which her global business experience will add value and will draw on her considerable governance, technology, compliance, human resources, government affairs, accounting, audit oversight, and regulatory experience. Her industry experience includes highly-regulated areas such financial services, insurance, and healthcare.
Until 2017, Mary was the head of a national healthcare system (the Indian Health Service) serving over 2.2 million persons with a budget of over $6 billion that included 26 hospitals and over 50 clinics. In this role, she oversaw the development of an overarching operational framework that utilized data analytics to improve services, allocate resources, and develop the workforce. She also testified before the U.S. Congress regularly.
Mary has a deep background in public policy and policy advocacy from her time in the White House as Associate Counsel to the President and Associate Director of Policy Planning in the Domestic Policy Council where she was responsible for a number of policy areas to improve the lives of underserved populations. Mary was the policy lead for Native American policy and oversaw policy regarding Native Hawaiians, including working toward restoring sovereignty for Native Hawaiians.
She previously served in a senior role at Tyco International (US) Inc. (NYSE: TYC), a $40 billion public company, where she managed one of the most high-profile corporate governance and accounting matters in the country. At Tyco, Mary managed a $60 million budget and regularly advised the board and senior executives on corporate governance matters and compliance, overseeing a $3 billion settlement.
Mary is an enrolled member of the Cherokee Nation and one of the most high-profile Native Americans in the country. She is also the Founder and Board Chair of the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation the only national organization that promotes Native American girls in the STEM fields.