TASHAWNA S. SMITH

• Negotiated the world’s first Treaty of the Sea, on behalf of the U.S. Government.
• Enforced the legal protections for the intellectual property theft of American Inventors and U.S. businesses, particularly as it relates to theft of U.S. intellectual property at universities and pharmaceutical companies.
• Negotiated the World Intellectual Property Organization’s Copyright Treaty.
• Contributed to the U.S. Government’s first Executive Order on Artificial Intelligence, shaping foundational language on the nation’s technical and ethical standards.
• Enhanced the intellectual property regimes of countries in Europe, Africa, Latin America, and the Middle East targeting capacity building opportunities with U.S. government agencies.
• Designed and implemented the course curriculum on Intellectual Property for the Foreign Service Institute, a school for Diplomats, including the first online option which was created as a sustainable option during COVID.
• Led the full planning and execution of the AGOA forum and African Leaders Summit side events, managing both the logistical coordination and political content development to ensure a high-impact, policy-driven event.
• Collaborated with American Embassies worldwide to draft congressionally-mandated reports that inform policy, support fair trade practices and empower American businesses to make critical decisions about global expansion.
• Advised the Secretary of State and other senior government policymakers on potential economic impacts of proposed legislation and current events, ensuring informed decisions were made in the best interest of U.S. national security priorities.
• Developed and maintained strong relationships with external partners, including artists, musicians, inventors and others within the creatives industry as well as private sector organizations, to advance shared objectives.
• Strengthened relationships with foreign counterparts by participating in global economic forums and engaging in diplomatic discussions surrounding shared interests.

• Political Advisor United States Mission to the United Nations 08/2015-Present - Serve the United States Ambassador as a Security Council Expert on Somalia and other thematic issues such as the protection of women and children against sexual violence.
• -Negotiated the first United Nations Security Council Resolution linking trafficking in persons to terrorism, recognizing for the first time that victims who are trafficked by terrorists are victims of terrorism.
• -Negotiated the United Nations’ first Security Council Resolution on youth, establishing an international definition for the term “youth.”
• -Served as the Mission’s expert on Peacekeeping and coordinator for annual peacekeeping negotiations with the General Assembly.
• U.S. Consul U.S. Consulate Rennes, France 08/2014-07/2015 - Reestablished relations with the French-American Cultural Center after a 30 year hiatus.
• -Developed and implemented an American cultural tour program with high schools through Western France.
• -Worked with various mayors, as the Consul of Western France, to repatriate personal items to families of deceased war veterans.
• -Promoted commercial business opportunities and established business leads for the Department of Commerce.
• -Met with various dignitaries and officials to discuss French-American relations and planned official diplomatic events.

• Reestablished relations with the French-American Cultural Center after an 30 year hiatus.
• Worked with various mayors all over France to repatriate personal items to families of deceased veterans of World War II.
• Cut the ribbon on the first McDonalds in the region of Pays de la Loire.
• Promoted commercial business opportunities and established business leads for the Department of Commerce.
• Increased awareness of educational opportunities available in our home country by developing and hosting a country tour at universities in the host country.
• Assisted in crisis management situations and security incidents, including providing support to citizens abroad during emergencies or natural disasters.
• Handled sensitive information discreetly while maintaining strict confidentiality protocols in accordance with federal guidelines and international standards.

• Supervised a staff of 17 to implement a 13 million dollar budget.
• -Won the Department-wide award for Public Diplomacy and was nominated for the prestigious Edward Murrow award.
• -Received honors by the Bureau of International Information Programs, a worldwide cable for improving social media at post by 300 percent and for creating a department wide public diplomacy outreach program based off the social media content I developed at post.
• -Led the White House’s pilot program on countering violent extremism, creating dozens of targeted programs focused on public diplomacy outreach.
• -Expanded the number of after school programs in the country from 11 to 15, reopened the American Corner in Algiers, and established a national English language partnership program with Berlitz.
• -Expanded the Public Diplomacy Section by creating three new positions.
• -Responsible for coordinating the receptions and dinners, including remarks, for the U.S. Ambassador; Planned and coordinated the July 4th reception and Election Night Watch Party for over 2,000 guests.

Established the first American Chamber of Commerce in The Gambia.

Established the first American Corner/library in The Gambia.

Established the first NGO for Women Entrepreneurs in The Gambia.

Planned and orchestrated all public events, receptions, meetings, dinners, including the annually required July 4th celebration for 400+ guests.

Worked relentlessly to establish James Island as a UNESCO World heritage site.

Created a solar panel program that provided electricity to James Island. The first time the island has ever had lightbulbs and light.

Identified cashews as an export commodity and worked with USAID to train Gambians on crop development, manufacturing and exporting. Established The Gambia’s first Cashew Association and helped them join the West African Cashew Alliance.

Served as a faux Public Affairs Officer for two years, establishing the validity of a needed position and then worked with the Bureau of African Affairs in Washington to design and create the position along with its budget.

Designed a program that brought the slave descendants of the Kuntah Kinteh family to the U.S. Embassy for the first time.

Was the first non-Ambassador to be knighted by President Yaya Jammeh and presented with dual citizenship.

Coordinated the Emergency Task Force twice in 2008 as a response to several attempted coup d’etat against Chadian President Deby, which resulted in an attack on the U.S. embassy and its personnel.

Commandeered the local Chadian community in Washington DC to use influences in Chad to convince President Deby to agree to a peaceful dialogue, which ultimately prevented rebels from attempting another attack.

Formulated policy in Central African Republic that helped maintain peace after the new government was formed.

Served as the Acting Chief of American Citizen Services during the evacuation of Lebanon.

Conducted over 2,000 visa interviews.

Devised a fraud prevention program at the embassy that improved the screening process for applicants and kept them from slipping through the infamous “No fly list.”

• Established the policy content for President Obama’s 2014 African Leadership Summit.
• -Worked as the White House’s Correspondence Director for the Summit.
• -Served as a policy and logistics advisor to the Assistant Secretary for African Affairs.

• Worked with the Department of Treasury to implement sanctions on Russian government officials following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
• -Coordinated sanctions related policy discussions at the White House on sanctions implementation against Russia.
• -Served as the state Department liaison to the Department of Commerce to mitigate the financial impact of sanctions against Russia, including consultations with various Unions and private corporations.

Sole web designer for The Source Magazine, the number one Hip Hop magazine in America.

Designed and launched a marketing campaign that increased traffic from 200,000 to 500,000 views a day.

Provided 24 hour customer service support to over 200 employees.

Hosted the company’s domain name and email database.

Designed websites and marketing ads for Beyoncé, Larenz Tate, The Roots, BET Awards, The Brat, Ja Rule, The Source Awards, Benzino, and others.

Attended the BET Awards and The Source Awards as an accredited journalist.

Received the 2004 Microsoft Award for “Best Use of Flash and HTML design on the internet.”

Managed a fleet of 14 FedEx Ground loading trucks and 28 employees.

Promoted within three months

Received an award for designing motivational incentives for employees and implementing retention efforts.

Led the September 11th Emergency Recovery Task Force for the Global Department.

Designed and implemented a global database for Human Resources that included cost projection analysis and salary reports for executive employees.

Created a junior employee mentorship program.