# Leslie Lynn Smith

> Leslie Lynn Smith is president and CEO of the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, a role she began in June 2025. A Detroit native, she previously led TechTown Detroit, served as founding president and CEO of Epicenter in Memphis, led GET Cities nationally and founded Themis Strategic Partners. Her career centers on connecting entrepreneurship, capital and community partnerships to expand economic opportunity.

- **Role:** President and CEO at Charlottesville Area Community Foundation
- **Organizations:** Charlottesville Area Community Foundation, Themis Strategic Partners, GET Cities, SecondMuse, Epicenter Memphis, TechTown Detroit, Michigan Economic Development Corporation, Center for American Entrepreneurship, National Women’s Business Council
- **From:** Detroit, United States
- **Education:** Cleary University
- **Known for:** Oversaw Michigan’s $300 million startup investment portfolio as director of business acceleration., Led TechTown Detroit before becoming Epicenter’s founding president and CEO., During her Epicenter tenure, the organization reported $40 million raised by September 2018.

## Career timeline

- **Early career** — Worked as a bank teller during college, then in commercial workouts and commercial real estate, including as CFO of an Ann Arbor real estate firm.
- **Before TechTown** — Directed business acceleration at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, overseeing a $300 million startup investment portfolio.
- **2010-2015** — Held leadership roles at TechTown Detroit, including president and CEO.
- **2015** — Selected in February as founding leader of Epicenter in Memphis.
- **2018** — Epicenter reported $40 million raised and more than 250 businesses helped to launch since 2015.
- **2019** — Worked with University of Memphis leaders on Patents2Products.
- **2020** — Left Epicenter and joined GET Cities in October as national director.
- **2022-2025** — Served on the National Women’s Business Council; LinkedIn lists November 2022 to March 2025.
- **By 2024** — Founder and principal of Themis Strategic Partners.
- **2025** — Became president and CEO of Charlottesville Area Community Foundation effective June 2.

## Achievements

- Oversaw Michigan’s $300 million startup investment portfolio as director of business acceleration.
- Led TechTown Detroit before becoming Epicenter’s founding president and CEO.
- During her Epicenter tenure, the organization reported $40 million raised by September 2018.
- Named a Memphis Business Journal Super Woman of Business in 2019.
- Led GET Cities nationally and founded Themis Strategic Partners.

## Latest updates

- **2026-11** — Scheduled to speak at the November 19 Tomorrow Talks event on the future of philanthropy; this is an upcoming event as of October 24, 2026.
- **2026-04** — Participated in the Tom Tom Festival discussion on the Downtown Mall and Charlottesville’s future; publicly discussed housing capacity and regional coordination.
- **2025-06** — Began as president and CEO of Charlottesville Area Community Foundation on June 2.

## Links

- Website: https://www.themisstrategicpartners.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/leslielynnsmith

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/leslie-lynn-smith
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-10-24