Shawn Smith - CEO, Chairman & Founder

Prior to the Foundation: She served in the first administration of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, was a founding member and the first Business Development Director for Club for Growth, served as Business Development Manager for the Benevolent Endowment Network Fund founded by Dr. Benjamin (Ben) Carson, and the Director of Fundraising for the Jefferson Island Club known for the “State of the Union” dinner and the “Citizen of the Year” award that honors U.S. Presidents and Members of Congress. 

Political Appointments: She served in the administration of President Ronald Reagan at the U.S. Senate Republican Policy Committee under Senator William Armstrong of Colorado and the Republican Platform Committee as Assistant to the Editor-in-Chief, Dr. William J. Gribbin. Served in President George H.W. Bush administration at the Republican National Committee in the office of Minority Outreach under Chairman Lee Atwater. 

Australia Appointments: She served as Business Development Associate for The Prince of Wales Medical Research Institute in Sydney, where she raised funds for 124 neuroscientists in Brain Cancer Research, Fundraising Manager for The Children’s Hospital at Westmead and the first Business Development Director for Bear Cottage. Bear Cottage is the 15th Children’s Hospice in the world and the first in New South Wales. 

Culinary Board Appointments: The American Academy of Chefs – Honorary Board of Trustees, former Advisory Board Member of the American Culinary Federation through Chef and Child Foundation and former 2nd Vice Chairman of the Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana. Honors: Honorary Texas Citizen; Who’s Who among Emerging Young Leaders in America. American Women of Sydney Australia as Fundraising Chairman, the National Breast Cancer Volunteer Corporate Advisory Committee of Sydney, and Research America! Ms. Smith represented the State of California at the 35th Anniversary of the Splashdown of Apollo 11 with Neil Armstrong, Command Module Pilot Michael Collins, and Lunar Module Pilot Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin on the USS Hornet.

Author: Ms. Smith is the creator of Hattie Mae & PALS (characters), the Practical Appetite Learning Skills wellness program and the Hattie Mae and PALS Traveling Trunk 6 book series. She is the creator of Harvest Gardens "Adventures in Learning" EnVision Center.  Education: Graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana (USL) and the Martin Blackwell Leadership Institute. Her greatest accomplishment is keeping her promise to her late sister, Tree.

The Williams - Smith Family Legacy:

I am often asked how I came up with Harvest Gardens “Adventures in Learning”. It all began with the story of my Great-Grandfather Rev. Sumpter Williams. He received a grant from the Julius Rosenwald Foundation which partnered with the local citizens and the local city government to create and build schools for Black students in the South.  The school served grades one through six and remained at this location until property was purchased by the St. Mary Parish School Board and the building was location on the corners of Railroad Avenue and Myrtle streets. Later the Morgan City Colored High School was renamed Sumpter Williams High School in honor of Sumpter Williams (1862-1929).

Rev. Sumpter Williams, was active in local Black community politics and the St. John Lodge Number 11, Free & Ancient Masons. In 1880 he was a milkman and 20 years later his occupation was listed as an “Ice Dealer”. By 1910 he owned a local grocery store and had eight daughters and two sons. One of his daughters, Ruth R. Williams later became principal of Sumpter Williams High School. 

Julius Rosenwald (August 12, 1862 – January 6, 1932) was a Jewish American businessman and philanthropist. He is best known as a part-owner and leader of Sears, Roebuck and Company, and for establishing the Rosenwald Fund, which donated millions in matching funds to promote vocational or technical education.