Herman D. Smith
Board of Directors
Herman D. Smith
Chair of Strategic Commmittee
Herman D. Smith is the Vice President for Human Resources at the Wildlife Conservation Society. The society’s mission saves wildlife and wild places worldwide through science, and global conservation. It is based at the Bronx Zoo, and covers all NYC Zoos and the Aquarium. Mr. Smith has spent his professional life as a missionary in public health, non-profit, education, and community service sectors.
Among his many activities, Mr. Smith is a current and original board of trustee’s member of the Carlos Lezama Archive and Cultural Center (CLACC-C). He is an advisory board member of the Center for the Women of New York and a recipient of their prestigious 2002 Good Guy Award for his support of their mission in aiding distressed women and victims of domestic violence. He is President and CEO of a Human Resources consulting firm, The Global Village Interpreters Management Incorporated (GVIMI), Mr. Smith was selected by NYC Health +Hospitals as a National Association of Public Hospitals Management Fellow in the year 2000. He is a certified Spanish teacher having received his Bachelor of Arts in Spanish, Liberal Arts, and Business from the University of Northern Iowa. He took postgraduate studies in International Comparative Education, and Law. Smith holds multiple professional certificates, and received his Master degree in International Economic Policy and Advanced Management from Columbia University.
During his healthcare career, Herman D. Smith served as Chief Human Resources Executive for 5 of the 11 acute care Hospitals within the NYC Health + Hospitals Corporation (NYC Health + Hospitals), the largest public health care system in the United States. At Elmhurst Hospital Center he served for 5 years as the Director of Labor Relations and Safety, and he served 16 years as Chief Human Resources Executive. He is the first Chief Human Resources Executive of the Queens Health Network encompassing Elmhurst and Queens Hospital Centers being appointed to that position in 1996. In 2004 he became Chief Human Resources Executive for The Generations Plus – Northern Manhattan Health Network encompassing Harlem, Lincoln, and Metropolitan Hospitals.
During his career in NYC Health + Hospitals, Smith achieved 24 perfect scores in the management of Human Resources portion of the Joint Commission of Accredited Health Care Organizations survey process. As a Human Resource Developer, Smith created arguably the largest recurrent youth development program in NYC. At its peak, 1000 of the most diverse and promising youth within the city were given employment, mentoring, training, and life skills for college and career preparation. He is the recipient of the National Association of Public Hospitals people development award for this endeavor.
After completing his Spanish Teaching degree at the University of Northern Iowa, Smith began his career as a K-6 bilingual education teacher for first generation Mexican immigrants in East Palo Alto California, at the Ravenswood City Public School District. He then taught K-6 secondary school at the Gertrude Wilkes Academy of East Palo Alto where he was quickly elevated to Head Master and School Administrator. Thereafter, Smith returned to NYC and began his Human Resources career as an employer representative for fortune 500 companies appearing before Administrative Law Judges at the New York State Department of Labor. He then was recruited to the NYC Health + Hospitals Corporation where he spent 25 years in Labor Relations and Human Resources.