Dr. Michelle Smith joined Every Texan in 2025 as the organization’s Interim Chief Executive Officer. She brings deep experience in nonprofit leadership, advocacy, and public policy and has spent her career championing policies that improve education and economic opportunity across Texas. 

She previously served as Executive Director at Raise Your Hand Texas, led advocacy efforts as a lobbyist at HillCo Partners, and most recently founded Smith Advocacy, where she has worked closely with organizations to strengthen their policy impact through grassroots advocacy. 

Michelle lives in Belton with her husband, Codie, and is an empty nester with two grown boys. If she’s not working, she’s probably fly fishing on the Texas coast.