Dr. Marion Smith Jr.

Dr. Marion Smith Jr. is a nationally recognized educator and racial equity scholar whose career embodies a blend of transformative leadership, equity pedagogy and innovation-driven change. He brings close to 25 years of experience leading and managing complex organizational growth and development across PK-12 education, post-secondary institutions, state government and EdTech.

Currently, Dr. Smith serves as chief learning officer of Bloom Software Inc. (Thrively). Thrively is a leading social impact EdTech company revolutionizing education through strengths-based education and asset-based learning. Prior to Thrively, Dr. Smith served as the assistant state superintendent of instructional programs & services for the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE). Before state-level leadership, he was the chief academic officer and deputy superintendent of academics of St. Louis Public Schools (SLPS). Additionally, he made history as the first Black administrator and first Black superintendent of schools for Summit School District in Summit County, Colorado, as well as serving as the first chief operating & education officer of TechSmart, a leading EdTech company specializing in K-12 computer science and coding education. Dr. Smith has held other educational leadership roles in Washington, Pennsylvania and Nevada. He began his career as a secondary English language arts teacher in his hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada in the fifth largest school district in the country, Clark County School District.

Guided by an unwavering pursuit of personal, institutional and systemic equity, Dr. Smith is the co-author of the Racial Equity Adaptive Leadership (R.E.A.L.) Framework©, and founder and owner of Educate to Liberate Consulting (E2LC). A first-generation college student, and life-long learner, his education includes a doctorate degree in educational leadership and change from Fielding Graduate University in Santa Barbara, CA; a law degree from the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University; a certification in child and adolescent psychology from the Chicago School; a masters degree in education administration and supervision with K-12 principal certification from the University of Phoenix, and a bachelors degree in secondary english education from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV). Additionally, he is an inaugural graduate of the AASA Urban Superintendents Academy at the University of Southern California (USC); Harvard Business School Public Education Leadership Project (PELP) alumni; and a Men of Color in Educational Leadership (MCEL) National Leadership Institute Inaugural Fellow.