LANSING, IL, March 20, 2025 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Mary Smith has been included in Marquis Who's Who. As in all Marquis Who's Who biographical volumes, individuals profiled are selected on the basis of current reference value. Factors such as position, noteworthy accomplishments, visibility, and prominence in a field are all taken into account during the selection process.

Ms. Smith's distinguished career has spanned law, government, the C-Suite and corporate boards. She currently serves on the board of PTC Therapeutics, Inc., a global biopharmaceutical company, and on the board of HAI Group, a leading member-owned insurance company for the affordable housing industry. She is also vice chair at the VENG Group, where she consults on business development, strategy, health care and corporate governance.

From 2023-2024, Ms. Smith served as president of the American Bar Association (ABA), the first Native American woman in this role in the association's almost 150-year history. Until 2017, she was the chief executive officer of the Indian Health Service, a $6 billion national healthcare system serving over 2.2 million individuals across 26 hospitals and over 50 clinics. In this role, she oversaw the development of an overarching operational framework that utilized data analytics to improve services, allocate resources and develop the workforce.

After earning a degree in mathematics and computer science, Ms. Smith started her career in technology at Walgreens and Northern Trust. In these positions, she worked with business leaders to address technology needs, attract customers and develop strategy.

In her private sector experience, Ms. Smith served in a senior role at Tyco International (US) Inc., a $40 billion public company, where she managed one of the most high-profile corporate governance and accounting matters in the country. Additionally, she managed a $60 million budget and regularly advised the board and senior executives on corporate governance matters and compliance, overseeing a $3 billion settlement. She also held roles as special counsel and estate trust officer at the Office of the Special Deputy Receiver in Chicago, Illinois. There, she managed and advised on mergers and acquisitions for over 20 insurance companies with approximately $1.5 billion in assets.

Ms. Smith has served at the highest levels of government, both at the federal and state level. She was on the senior team of the Civil Division at the United States Department of Justice and was general counsel and a member of senior management at the Illinois Department of Insurance, overseeing legal and compliance functions. Earlier in her career, Ms. Smith served in the Clinton White House as associate counsel to the President and associate director of policy planning in the Domestic Policy Council. From 2018-2020, she was also a member of the National Policy and Innovation Council for WellCare, now Centene, which advised the C-suite on strategic matters.

In her civic activities, Ms. Smith is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the Economic Club of Chicago, C200, the Chicago Network, the Commercial Club of Chicago, the International Women's Forum and the National Association of Corporate Directors. She is also a board member of the Field Museum of Natural History in Chicago and audit committee chair and a member of the Nominating and Governance Committee of the National Women's History Museum. In honor of the 250th anniversary of the United States, she serves as an ambassador to America250.

An enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation, Ms. Smith founded and serves as president and chair of the Caroline and Ora Smith Foundation (www.carolineorasmithfoundation.org), which is named after her mother and grandmother, respectively, and provides STEM instruction to Native American girls. Meanwhile, as ABA president, she was—and continues to be—a high-profile thought leader on service to the legal profession and the issue of protecting our nation's democracy.

Ms. Smith is the recipient of numerous awards and recognitions. In 2025, the ABA Solo, Small Firm and General Practice Division presented her with the Difference Maker Award "Making a Difference by Breaking Barriers." In addition to being featured on the Forbes' 50 over 50 2024 List, she was recognized by Crain's Chicago Business as a Notable Women in Law and by the Asian Pacific American Bar Association of Los Angeles County as a Trailblazer in the Law. She was also the recipient of the 2024 University of Chicago Diversity Leadership Alumni Award and the Diversity Scholarship Foundation's 2024 Advocate for Diversity Award.

In 2023, Chicago United selected Ms. Smith as a Business Leader of Color. She also received the ABA Government and Public Sector Lawyers Division's Nelson award, which recognizes exceptional service by a public sector lawyer, and the Chicago Bar Association's Justice John Paul Stevens. Law Bulletin Media included her as an honoree during the Fourth Annual Top Women in the Law Awards in November 2023, and she was selected as a 2023 Director to Watch by Directors & Board magazine. From the Cherokee Nation, Ms. Smith received the 2023 Cherokee National Statesmanship award.

In 2022, Ms. Smith received the Abner J. Mikva Award from the American Constitution Society (ACS) Chicago Lawyer Chapter. She was also selected to Crain's Chicago Business' Notable Women in STEM in 2020 and 2023 and Crain's Custom Media's "Chicago's Notable Women Lawyers" in 2018. In 2017, she received a Special Recognition Award from the National Congress of American Indians for her work at the helm of the Indian Health Service. She was featured on the Lawyers of Color Fourth Annual Power List in 2015 and received the ABA Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession's Spirit of Excellence Award in 2012. At the conclusion of her time in the White House in 2001, Ms. Smith received the U.S. Office of Personnel Management Director's Citation for Exemplary Public Service.

Ms. Smith graduated cum laude from the University of Chicago School of Law and received a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and computer science, magna cum laude, from Loyola University of Chicago. She served on the Law Review and clerked for the Hon. R. Lanier Anderson III in the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

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Since 1899, when A. N. Marquis printed the First Edition of Who's Who in America®, Marquis Who's Who® has chronicled the lives of the most accomplished individuals and innovators from every significant field of endeavor, including politics, business, medicine, law, education, art, religion and entertainment. Who's Who in America® remains an essential biographical source for thousands of researchers, journalists, librarians and executive search firms around the world. The suite of Marquis® publications can be viewed at the official Marquis Who's Who® website, www.marquiswhoswho.com.

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