Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Daisy L. Alford-Smith serves as Chief Executive Officer of the Girl Scouts of North East Ohio (GSNEO), which covers an 18-county region serving more than 40,000 girls and 14,000 adult volunteers. Previous to leading GSNEO, she served as the Chief Operating Officer with the Commission on Graduates of Foreign Nursing Schools and the International Commission on Health Care Professions in Philadelphia, Pa.
Throughout her leadership experience, Dr. Alford-Smith has been very involved with issues surrounding minority health care, social reform and community empowerment. While serving as the Director of the Summit County Department of Jobs and Family Services, she was lauded for her distinguished accomplishments in the reorganization and implementation of welfare reform and for the development of the first county-wide health and human services agenda and forum. As Assistant Professor and Director of the Center for Urban & Minority Health at Case Western Reserve University, she taught health policy, initiated urban and minority health programs, and conducted minority health research.
During her tenure as the Director of the Cleveland Department of Public Health, she successfully established public health programs that improved the quality of life for thousands of Cleveland, Ohio residents by creating innovative programs that addressed health and human services issues along with specific rehabilitation programs for inmates at the House of Corrections.
As former Deputy Director for the Ohio Department of Human Services, Dr. Alford-Smith was responsible for statewide supervision of child welfare, social services, adult protective services, Medicaid Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) activities and child care, as well as budgetary and legislative responsibilities. In this position, she actively advocated for and instituted public policy initiatives that had statewide impact.
In addition to being on faculty at Case Western Reserve University's School of Medicine and Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing, Dr. Alford-Smith has lectured nationally and internationally on minority health issues. She taught Leadership & Administration at the University of Zimbabwe in Africa; was a health consultant to the South African Government; presented health-care workshops in Bangkok, Thailand; and was a keynote speaker in Korea at an International Nursing Conference. She has served as a consultant to the country of Slovakia, assisting two major cities in the development of citywide health plans. She has also spoken before the Democratic National Convention's Black Caucus Delegation.
Dr. Alford-Smith is an executive-level decision maker with strong fiscal, administrative, strategic management, public health and human services program expertise and possesses the following degrees: a Nursing Diploma from Montefiore Hospital School of Nursing in Pittsburgh, Pa; a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Excelsior College in Albany, N.Y.; a Master of Science in Technical Education from The University of Akron, Ohio, and a doctorate in Urban Education from Cleveland State University.
Dr. Alford-Smith is the recipient of numerous awards including the Legacy, Leadership, and Excellence Award from The University of Akron Office of Multicultural Development, Call & Post Most Influential in the African American Community, Who's Who in Black Cleveland, Crain's Cleveland Business-Woman of Influence, YWCA Greater Cleveland Woman of Achievements Award and The Harold K. Stubbs Humanitarian Award. Some of her affiliations include: Girl Scouts of United States of America (GSUSA), Association of Girl Scouts Executive Staff (AGSES), Fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, The Links Incorporated, Cleveland Council of Black Nurses and Akron Black Nurses Association. She has served in various leadership positions with National Black Nurses Association and had the distinction of serving on the Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee of the Health Care Financing Administration.
Dr. Alford-Smith is the proud parent of three adult children, Kymberly Sellers, WZAK radio personality, Kelli Wilson, a staff member at GSNEO, and William "Trae" Alford who is employed in Akron, Ohio. Her family has been expanded to five children and 13 grandchildren due to her marriage in 1996 to Kenneth Smith, president and owner of Hull Remodeling, Inc.
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