It’s been an interesting couple of years for Michelle Smith, BA ’91.
Since 2001, Smith has worked for the Federal Reserve Board as Assistant to the Board and Director of the Office of Board Members. As such, she has served as the Federal Reserve Board’s chief spokesperson, beginning during Alan Greenspan’s tenure as chairman. Smith nearly left the role when Greenspan did, but then decided to stay to work with new chair Ben Bernanke.
Over the past two years, as the country entered a recession and the Federal Reserve came under even closer scrutiny than usual, it has been Smith’s responsibility to explain the Reserve’s actions to the public — a tough task by any measure. In a recent BusinessWeek feature on nine of Washington’s “low-profile, highly influential” people, the magazine applauded Smith’s work in the role, noting that her suggestions helped Bernanke land Time‘s “Person of the Year” honor last December and gain public support through an important “60 Minutes” interview.
“Baylor gave me an appreciation for the importance and dignity of public service,” Smith told The Baylor Lariat in an interview last year. “Baylor tries to instill in every student a curiosity about the world and a commitment to work to make things better. Baylor students leave with a sense that it is possible to successfully translate their core values into practice through their careers and in their communities.”
Sic ’em, Michelle!
