Douglas Smith
Tell us a little bit about yourself
I live in West Vail with my wife, ski racing and soccer playing daughter and a bird obsessed yellow lab. After a career in government, culminating in me being the Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, we decided to make our lifelong love of the Vail Valley a reality and moved here full time for our daughter to go to school here. Since leaving government, I have joined numerous boards, both of publicly traded companies and not-for-profits.
I currently work for an international asset management fund that allows me to work and live full time in Vail. Two of the company boards I serve on have a lot of relevance to the critical work the Eagle County Paramedic Service provides. One is a bio tech company specializing in creating next generation Covid therapeutics and the second is a drone company that was put to extensive use by the British Health Service delivering critical medicine and equipment throughout the pandemic. All of these past and current professional experiences have given me great exposure to problem solving and consensus building to find solutions to the most difficult problems. I first came to the Vail Valley when I was 15 years old. My family has lived here full time now for two years.
Why do you want to join the ECPS Board of Directors?
Having spent many years of my career at the federal level of first response, I saw first-hand the critical importance of the role of state and local operations for truly getting the work done. Living in this amazing community, I want to be sure our local first responders have all they need to help keep us all safe. Being a part of the fabric of this wonderful community is super important to my family and being able to give back is a big part of that! I believe my diverse experience in both the public and private sectors will be put to good use serving on the board of ECPCS.
What are some of your prior board leadership experiences?
I am currently the Chairman of the board of Plymouth Rock technologies. I currently serve on the Town of Vail Commission on Special events; I serve on the board of Linear Therapies, a bio tech research company; in the past, I served on the board of my high school.
What skills, connections, resources, and expertise do you have to offer to our organization?
Having served at the highest levels of government as well as in the private sector, I bring a wide variety skills and experiences particularly in the area of fiduciary management, good governance, public relations, government affairs and fundraising. From my time as the Assistant Secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, I have a deep understanding of the role of first responders on the local level. I have an extensive network here in Eagle County, Colorado as a whole and of course at the national level with eyes on available grant dollars to state and local organizations.
What are your hobbies and interests?
I love to ski, mountain bike, fly fish and try new restaurants. As a family, we love to travel. This winter, I am spending two days a week working on Vail Mountain on the Special Operations team, the interface between ski patrol, mountain safety and lift operations, a great behind the scenes look on the challenging medical situations scene on the hill every day.