Democratic Party of Oregon Chair - Meredith Wood Smith

Meredith has been a small business owner, president of a local business association, and sales representative for a mid-sized national corporation, giving her a keen interest in, and understanding of the needs of the small business community.

Meredith loves Oregon and cannot imagine permanently living anywhere else. Living in both rural and urban environments has provided her the opportunity to gain an understanding of the blessings and challenges of each.

Meredith was born in Attleboro, Massachusetts and at ten moved with her family to Versailles, Kentucky. She attended the University of Kentucky and received a BA in Education. Upon graduation she taught children with disabilities, served as a vocational counselor, taught delinquent and neglected adolescents and later served as an "at risk" youth advocate and community organizer for city, county and state government. She maintains close relationships with her three brothers and a sister in Vermont, Georgia, and Utah.

Meredith has been married for twenty-five years to Joe Smith, former Legislator and Chairperson of the Democratic Party of Oregon, and chief aide to both the Speaker of the Oregon House and a member of Congress. He is semi-retired as a business consultant and attorney, and remains politically active in both the Democratic Party, and the Oregon Bus Project. They enjoy a close relationship with their four sons and their partners and three beautiful grandchildren, three living in Portland and one in Santa Fe, NM.