Warren T. Smith Sr., Vice Chair
Spanaway, WSSDA Elected Position 5, Western Washington, through January 2010

Mr. Smith was a school director holding posts of president, vice president and legislative representative for the Bethel School District from 1986 to 1999. He has also been a member of the State Board since 2000 and board president in 2004. Mr. Smith has served in various capacities with the Washington State School Directors Association's (WSSDA) executive board, including president, president-elect and vice president.

He was co-founder and chair of WSSDA's Diversity/Multicultural Advocacy Team, co-chair of its Legislative Committee and the delegate to the National School Boards Association (NSBA). With NSBA, Mr. Smith was the Pacific Region chair, the Federal Relations Network chair and served with the Government Relations Regional Conference. He was a member of the Governors' Community Leaders Outreach Forum and a grant reviewer for the Department of Education Challenge Grant.

Mr. Smith retired from US West Communications, where he was a manager. He and his wife now provide foster care for young men between the ages of 12 and 18. Deeply committed to ensuring an equitable education for all children, Mr. Smith is keenly aware of the issues of diversity and fairness. He is a Graduate Fellow Class III of the American Leadership Forum, and a former member of the Northwest Regional Lab, the African American Think Tank, and the Multi-Ethnic Think Tank. He is an ordained deacon of the Saint John Baptist Church. Mr. Smith attended Tacoma Community College, Advance Leadership School/Military Police School, Institute for Intercultural Communication at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Oregon. Mr. Smith was chair of the Equity Committee, and has been a member of the Executive and Legislative Committees.