Regina R. Smith is managing director of The Kresge Foundation’s Arts & Culture Program, where she leads a team and works across sectors to position culture and creativity as drivers of more just communities. Her tenure at Kresge began in 2008 as a program officer.

Before joining Kresge, Regina held leadership positions in the public and private sectors as an arts and community-building grantmaker in the Midwest and Southeast, where she conducted cultural assessments and supported work that advanced the priorities of residents, artists, and neighborhood-based groups in rural and urban communities. She began her career in the arts as a museum educator. Over her 30-year career, Regina has served on many boards and advisory councils, including as board chair of Grantmakers in the Arts and co-chair of Artplace America’s Operations Committee.

Regina studied art history at the University of Pittsburgh and received a master’s degree in arts administration from Winthrop University in Rock Hill, S.C.

Photo: Douglas Schaible