A strategic, fundraising leader, Miriam A. Smith brings nearly twenty years of development and alumni relations experience, working at some of the most highly regarded institutions and organizations in the country.

Smith is currently the Vice President of Development and Alumni Relations at Columbia College Chicago where she is part of the president’s cabinet and leads a team of development and fundraising professionals to oversee operations and strengthen productivity in the areas of development, alumni relations, major gifts, corporate and foundation relations, donor stewardship, and campaign planning and implementation.

Prior to her work at Columbia, Smith resided in her native city of Atlanta, Georgia where she served as Director of Corporate Relations at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, working closely with corporate donors and prospects. Smith also worked as Manager of Donor Relations at Grady Health Foundation, where she cultivated and stewarded a robust, high-level portfolio of more than 100 individual and corporate donors and prospects for major gifts. While in Atlanta, Smith was nominated to serve in the highly competitive Leadership DeKalb Program and was part of the American Jewish Committee’s Atlanta Black/Jewish Coalition’s inaugural Project Understanding Gen X Cohort in 2023.

From 2015-2019, Smith served as Executive Director of Alumni Relations and Annual Giving at Columbia College Chicago, where she provided leadership and guidance for the institution’s engagement efforts with alumni, students, parents, and donors to strengthen and build affinity and increase philanthropic support. In addition to her work at Columbia, Smith’s higher education experience includes positions at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) in New York City, where she led as Chair for Goal 3 of FIT's Strategic Plan: "Our Legacy, Our Future: FIT Beyond 2020," Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York, and Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York.

Outside of academia, Smith has a genuine love and passion for the arts. She worked for the world-renowned classical artist firm, Columbia Artists Management in New York City, working closely with classical artists and touring attractions with more than 100 domestic and international symphony orchestras and Midwest performing arts centers. Smith is a professionally trained opera singer who holds a Master of Music in Opera degree from the State University of New York- Binghamton where she sang in various productions with Tri Cities Opera. She earned a Bachelor of Liberal Arts degree from Sarah Lawrence College.

Smith is currently a proud participant of the prestigious Chicago Urban League and the University of Chicago Booth School of Business’ 2024 IMPACT Leadership Development Program. She has served on the boards of Ladies of Virtue (LOVChicago), Chicago Composers Orchestra, and Sarah Lawrence College Alumni Board.