Edward "Smitty" Smith II earned his J.D. from Harvard Law School. Smitty is a former presidential appointee in the Administration of President Barack Obama, in which he served as a Special Advisor in the Department of Commerce. Prior to entering the administration, Smitty served as Deputy General Counsel to the Presidential Inaugural Committee. Smitty is on the board of We The People, an organization committed to litigation and innovative grassroots organizing that frames its advocacy around the belief that our core rights as Americans should not be based on where we live in the United States. Smitty currently runs the District of Columbia's Justice Grants Administration.