John Smith

Executive Director, Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative

John Smith is the Executive Director of the Dudley Street Neighborhood Initiative, a community development organization, located in the Roxbury area of Boston, whose mission is to empower the residents of that community to organize, plan for, create and control a vibrant, diverse and high-quality neighborhood in collaboration with partners and stakeholders. John brings extensive experience in the nonprofit, government, education, and advocacy fields to his role at DSNI. He also serves as a Commissioner of the Boston Cannabis Board, an independent board charged with reviewing all applicants for a cannabis license in the city of Boston.

Prior to his role as Executive Director he was the Director of Programs at TSNE MissionWorks directing capacity building work for small and medium sized nonprofits and has served as the Economic Development Policy Analyst in the Walsh Administration's Office of Economic Development for the City of Boston, where he managed major economic development policy initiatives. Before his government experience, John also worked at the Fair Housing Center of Greater Boston, the Hyams Foundation’s Youth Policy Initiative, the Tennessee Department of Health, and at several universities, managing service learning and other student-centered programs.