Home - Jefferson Smith

Public Speaker

Jefferson is a celebrated PUBLIC SPEAKER – from compelling TEDx talks, acclaimed commencement addresses, corporate gatherings, nonprofit fundraisers, and opening for the President of the United States. He has coached dozens of speakers to prepare for their own talk of a lifetime.

Startup Adventurer

Jefferson has founded and co-founded several successful organizations in the last fifteen years. He has the rare kind of leadership quality that begins large projects with just the right gust of enthusiasm and determination to inspire others to follow. His work over the years demonstrates that he is a big picture thinker, but with a strategic mind that can hold a vision without ever losing sight of what it takes to get the job done. Most recently, he co-founded Tryl.ai, clinical research software startup that optimizes the performance of clinical trials by improving the human experience.

Democracy Advocate

Jefferson has spent most of his adult life working to improve democracy. Immediately after graduating from Harvard, he returned home where he co-founded the award-winning Bus Project, which focused on engaging young people in politics and registered tens of thousands of voters. He has been an Oregon State Representative, a talk radio show host, a mayoral candidate, the executive director of a terrestrial radio platform that launched hundreds of diverse voices, and currently works with a Portland-based company dedicated to bridging the growing digital divide that disadvantages internet-poor communities.

Media Maker

During his tenure as Executive Director for a Portland-based grassroots radio project, Jefferson helped produce countless media projects, including The Numberz – Portland’s Black Radio Station. As an Oregon State Representative, he often used his media savvy to reach across partisan lines, and over the years has hosted a number of radio shows. He is currently the go-to surrogate host for the nationally distributed, Thom Hartmann Program

Nonprofit Builder

Organization building is where Jefferson’s leadership skills first emerged. Starting in the early 2000’s with the Bus project, Jefferson discovered his ability to not only clearly identify a need, but also organize a living structure to meet the need. He would go on to become a serial, social entrepreneur founding leadership programs like PolitiCorps, Portland Forward, and Onward Oregon, as well as work with countless other social entrepreneurs in the Portland area.

Public Speaker

Startup Adventurer

Democracy Advocate

Media Maker

Nonprofit Builder

RECENT VIDEOS

Your engagement matters: Jefferson Smith at TEDxConcordiaUPortland

The trouble with thankless jobs Jefferson Smith TEDxSalem

Jefferson Smith | 2012 UofO Commencement Speech