Chéri Smith's experience in clean energy spans over three decades and multiple sectors. Her focus areas are clean energy capacity building in disadvantaged communities, project and program development, policy, finance and workforce development. A descendant of the Mi’Kmaq Nation, she has made it her life’s work to leverage this expertise for the benefit of Native American tribes.

From 2009 – 2015, Smith was in private practice, providing renewable energy and energy efficiency project consulting services to colleges, universities, and governments, including the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), New York State Energy Research & Development Authority (NYSERDA), and US Department of Energy SunShot initiatives: Solar Ready Vets, Solar Instructor Training Network, and Solar Career Map. From 2005 – 2009, Smith served as Director of Education & Outreach for the American Council On Renewable Energy, where she developed and managed ACORE’s corporate, educational, and citizen-outreach programs, on an international level.

A self-described child of the sea, Smith lives on the shore with her family on the ancestral homelands of both the Narragansett and Seminole in present-day Rhode Island and Florida.