Vice Mayor Joy B. Smith was born in England and raised in Jamaica, where she attended an all-age school and spent her teenage years. As a young adult, she returned to England and furthered her education at Lewisham College in London, where she received certificates in business administration. Vice Mayor Smith worked in the public sector at Lewisham City Council as a passenger attendant, working with and assisting the elderly and mentally challenged kids.In 1996, she emigrated to the United States and settled in West Park, where she has been living for over 20 years. Vice Mayor Smith worked for 14 years in the Memorial Hospital system, in the radiology department, and then decided to follow her love of cooking and attend the Le Cordon Bleu School of the Culinary Arts. This experience resulted in an internship at the Sandals Carlyle Hotel in Montego Bay, Jamaica, where, after graduating, she decided to open and manage her restaurant, “First Class Diner” on the island. Returning to Florida in 2016, she obtained employment with a contracting company at the Fort Lauderdale Airport, where she became a union steward and advocate for her colleagues. She petitioned Broward County to ensure that the company she worked for supplied better wages, sick leave, vacation, and a better working environment for employees.Vice Mayor Smith decided she wanted a change in leadership at West Park City Hall, enabling a greater diversity of thought. In 2020, while serving on the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists (CBTU) board of trustees, she ran for the office of West Park City Commissioner, following her passion for serving the public, and from a field of two other qualified candidates, she was victorious. She has worked on numerous initiatives while in the office, such as back-to-school drives, Christmas toy giveaways, turkey and monthly free food giveaways, Halloween treats, and mental health awareness fairs.Legacy Magazine honored her as one of South Florida's most prominent and influential black women in business and industry for 2022. She continues to serve her community to the best of her ability as a member of the Broward League of Cities, the Florida League of Cities, and the National League of Cities.