Alayna Smith

Alayna Smith is an impact officer for the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, where she plays an active changemaking role within the Kansas City community and is primarily responsible for leading the after-school initiative. As an educator supporting underserved communities for more than 15 years, Smith is dedicated to shattering the status quo, dismantling broken systems, removing barriers, and creating innovative solutions.

Prior to joining the Kauffman Foundation, Smith was a senior consultant in school and program innovation for Choice-filled Lives and EDvocate Consulting, where she consulted with a variety of organizations, such as the Georgia Department of Education, Georgia State University, Transcend Network, The Primary School, Florida Center for Reading & Research, and others. Earlier, Smith was a K-3 program developer and content coordinator for Rollins Center for Language and Literacy, where she developed an outreach strategy for Atlanta Speech School’s elementary educational reform.

Smith has a Master of Education in reading, language, and literacy from Georgia State University and a Bachelor of Science in elementary education from Florida A&M University. She also holds a post-master’s certificate in program evaluation from Georgia State University.