Desirée Cormier Smith was the inaugural Special Representative for Racial Equity and Justice at the U.S. State Department from 2022 until 2025, leading groundbreaking efforts to forge global partnerships to combat racism and promote the human rights of people of African descent, Indigenous peoples, and other marginalized racial and ethnic communities. She previously served as Senior Advisor in the Bureau of International Organizations Affairs, playing a pivotal role in U.S. efforts to re-engage in UN human rights mechanisms. Prior to returning to government service, she held roles at Open Society Foundations and Albright Stonebridge Group. Ms. Cormier Smith was the proud recipient of the Pickering Fellowship and began her career as a Foreign Service Officer serving in Mexico, South Africa, and Washington, D.C.
Ms. Cormier Smith is an inaugural Alcee L. Hastings Global Leadership Fellow at the Bunche International Affairs Center at Howard University and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the National Capital Area chapter of the United Nations Association (UNA-NCA).
She was recognized by the Most Influential People of African Descent (MIPAD) as a Global Top 100 leader in politics and governance in 2023. She is the inaugural recipient of the Harvard Kennedy School Black Alumni Association’s Distinguished Achievement Honor in 2024. She holds a BA from Stanford University and an MPP from Harvard Kennedy School.
Project: As one of the inaugural Human Rights and U.S. Foreign Policy fellow, Ms. Cormier Smith will examine the centrality of racial justice to the effective development and execution of a human rights-based U.S. foreign policy. Around the world, the human rights and dignity of people of African descent, Indigenous peoples, Roma people, and members of other marginalized racial and ethnic groups and lower castes are often violated simply because of their racial, ethnic, or caste identity. Yet, this reality is largely ignored in U.S. foreign policy and too often siloed as a domestic issue. But until U.S. foreign policy takes into account the realities and implications of racial, ethnic, and caste inequities, we will continue to fall short in effectively promoting inclusive development, peace, and stability.