Cynthia Smith Email & Phone Number

As the President & CEO for the National Marine Mammal Foundation (NMMF), Smith is charged with furthering the nonprofit’s mission to improve and protect life for all marine mammals through innovative science, service, and education. Smith has led the organization since 2010, and served as Chief Medical Officer for more than a decade. She continues to lead projects focused on marine mammal health and welfare, in the US and internationally. Smith also provides her veterinary and conservation medicine expertise for high-priority marine mammal projects, specifically those focused on at-risk, threatened, and critically endangered dolphins, porpoises, and whales. Smith and the NMMF team provide veterinary, research, animal care, and management support to the US Navy. She has contributed as a lead veterinarian for NOAA’s Natural Resource Damage Assessment of the Deepwater Horizon (DWH) oil spill, and continues to study the long-term impacts of oil exposure on dolphins in the Gulf of Mexico. Smith served as the General Program Manager for the Consortium of Vaquita Conservation, Recovery, and Protection (VaquitaCPR), an international effort aimed at rescuing the endangered vaquita porpoise from extinction. She co-founded JANE: Justice & Action Network for the Earth, which was selected as a top 100 finalist for MacArthur Foundation’s 100 & Change Competition and is part of the Bold Solutions Network. Most recently, Smith helped launch Operation GRACE: Global Rescue of At-Risk Cetaceans and Ecosystems, with conservation projects in North America, South America, Africa, and the Middle East. Smith received a Bachelor’s of Science degree from Texas A&M University and a Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree from Tufts University. She completed executive education at Harvard Business School, Harvard Kennedy School, and Berkeley Haas School of Business. In 2019, she was named a Red Bull Hero of the Year for her work in conservation. In 2022, she was named a Woman of the Year finalist by San Diego Magazine and a Nonprofit Citizenship Award finalist by the San Diego Business Journal. In 2023, she was elected to the Tufts University Board of Trustees; and in 2024, she was named a Top Woman Leader in San Diego by Women We Admire. Smith understands the importance of giving back locally and globally through her veterinary expertise, conservation perspective, and nonprofit experience, striving to improve marine mammal protection efforts world-wide.

Listed skills include Veterinary Medicine, Clinical Research, Marine Mammals, Wildlife Conservation, and 9 others.