Fred Smith

Fred Smith served as President of HOPE Coalition America, a division of Operation HOPE, Inc., and served as a senior advisor to the chairman of Operation HOPE. He is the former President and Chief Operating Officer of Operation Hope, Inc., a national nonprofit that provides economic education, financial literacy, and financial dignity services, and Deputy Treasurer of the State of California. 

As Deputy Treasurer for Public Finance, he was responsible for all general obligation bonds, lease revenue bonds, revenue anticipation notes, and the State’s commercial paper program. He managed the State’s portfolio of outstanding debt and the annual cash-borrowing plan needed to finance the State’s fiscal operational budget and represented the Treasurer on twenty-five finance and public interest committees. As Assistant Treasurer served as Executive Director of the California Debt Limit Allocation Committee and was responsible for allocating $1.5 billion annually in private activity bond financing in California. Additional responsibilities included Executive Director of the California Industrial Development Financing Advisory Commission and the California Pollution Control Financing Authority, managing the activities of individuals who assist private, business, and local government to develop and structure financing to facilitate economic expansion and environment improvement. He was the principal coordinator of the California Financial Summit and the California Pacific Rim Investment Summits in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Singapore, and Taiwan.

Before joining the State Treasurer’s Office, Smith had over twenty years of corporate experience and community service as a bank branch manager, credit administrator, national division accounts officer, and district manager for corporate banking and merchant banking for First Interstate Bank. Smith also served

as Director of Sales for the California office of the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), responsible for managing the liquidation of all RTC-controlled institutions in California. In addition to reviewing the asset portfolios and operating procedures for failed savings and loan institutions, he managed the liquidation of $63 billion in real estate and loans in three years.

He is a published author and community leader. He has served as a County Commissioner, vice chair of the Workforce Investment Board, member of the board of directors of the Los Angeles Council Boy Scouts of America, Operation Hope, Inc., the Transportation Foundation of Los Angeles, a large Chamber
of Commerce and on the advisory board of a regional bank. He is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, receiving many awards, including the Legion of Merit.

As a board member, Fred Smith's multifaceted background and dedication to community service positions him as a valuable thought leader and resource for Humanity For Girls, particularly in financial management, strategic planning, and leveraging his extensive network of contacts to support the organization's mission.