Cynthia Smith

Curator of Socially Responsible Design, Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum

Cynthia E. Smith serves as the Curator of Socially Responsible Design at Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. Trained as an industrial designer; for more than a decade she led multidisciplinary design and planning projects for cultural institutions; and after earning a graduate degree from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government joined Cooper Hewitt where she integrates her work experience with her advocacy on human rights and social justice issues.

She co-authored The Politics of Genocide: U.S. Rhetoric vs. Inaction in Darfur for the Kennedy School Review; curated By the People: Designing a Better America (2016); curated Design with the Other 90%: CITIES at the United Nations (2011); co-curated the Design Triennial: Why Design Now? (2010); curated the groundbreaking Design for the Other 90% exhibition (2007); co-organized the Social Impact Design Summit and white paper with the NEA; serves on international design juries; and lectures widely on socially responsible design.