Founding Director, Vanguard Africa
Jeffrey Smith is the founding director of Vanguard Africa, a nonprofit organization that supports pro-reform, ethical leaders in Sub-Saharan Africa. Vanguard Africa worked extensively on the recent election in the Gambia, which included support to the political coalition that defeated President Yahya Jammeh, who has ruled the country for 22 years. Mr. Smith has over a decade of experience working on international human rights and pro-democracy issues, including prior positions at the RFK Center for Justice and Human Rights, Freedom House, the National Endowment for Democracy, Institute for Democratic Alternatives in South Africa (IDASA), and UNESCO.