Deirdre Smith founded Smith O'Neal Consulting after relocating to Denver from New York City in 2015. Having spent ten years in the non-profit and education sectors, Deirdre decided to parlay her experience designing and leading programs into an independent consulting practice. Deirdre provides core services in:1. Strategy Development: diagnostic surveys and interviews, research, stakeholder engagement and option assessment.2. Organizational Planning & Project Management: defining vision, strategies and goals and developing detailed work plans to drive implementation and track progress.3.Change Management: Communication strategy, resource development and training to support organizations and people in managing change and adopting new ideas, processes or ways of working.

Chief of Staff to the CEO of the Office of Innovation (iZone) at the NYC Department of Education, an incubation lab of 300 schools committed to designing and testing innovative learning models to radically improve college and career readiness for students. Oversaw business operations, communications, grants management and strategic partnerships.

Managed national portfolio of alternate-route teacher training programs including partnering with state and district clients to co-design and implement programs that met human capital goals and local requirements for new teacher induction, training and licensure.

Member of senior management team of Education and Youth Services division comprised of 160+ staff and serving 5,000 youth annually. Oversaw implementation of a comprehensive career and college-preparatory program for 1,000+ student interns annually including managing relationships with partnering employers in the private and non-profit sectors.