OL Reign Legend: Rachel Smith – President and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce

The Legends Campaign, a partnership between OL Reign and Starbucks, honors women for their extraordinary contributions to our community in the Pacific Northwest and beyond. Prior to OL Reign’s match against Racing Louisville FC on September 6, OL Reign recognized Rachel Smith, President and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce. 

In her role with the Chamber of Commerce, Smith is known for building effective coalitions, synthesizing and analyzing complex information, making systems work for the people they are intended to serve and working collaboratively to secure significant policy achievements that enrich and foster the growth of the regional business community.  

Her journey to becoming the President and CEO of the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce isn’t exactly typical. Originally from Tulsa, Smith attended Humboldt State University where she earned a degree in wildlife biology. After spending some time doing wildlife research, Smith pivoted into the nonprofit environmental field and made the move to Portland before getting into transportation and making the move to Seattle. 

From there, Smith’s career in government affairs, policy, operations and advocacy blossomed. She served as Deputy County Executive and Chief of Staff to King County Executive Dow Constantine most recently. Earlier in her career, Rachel served as Government and Community Relations Officer for Sound Transit, and in the administration of former Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels. 

"I can't talk about myself, my journey and my accomplishments without talking about all the people and women in particular, who opened doors for me. It's not an overstatement to say that I wouldn't be here without them. I really believe in working in coalition with partners. I think that's the only way to get big things done. Working with partners that bring diversity of thoughts and opinions to the table is so important,” said Smith. 

Smith has played a pivotal role in delivering government investments that generate economic benefit and enhance quality of life for employers and their employees, including securing voter approval for transit proposals, authorization of investments in sporting venues and hospital infrastructure, helping businesses navigate the pandemic, and in 2022, securing passage of Move Ahead Washington, a state transportation package that included many business community priorities. 

“Generally, I would say that I’m most proud of being someone who knows how to make really complex systems work for people. I think I'm a pretty good partner and I really, as I said, believe you have to work in partnership with others to get stuff done.” 

Smith added, “More specifically, I have had a couple of things in my career that I am really proud of. I launched a big climate change program with the City of Seattle and was a leader among many others on the passage of the Sound Transit 2 and the Sound Transit 3 ballot measures. I was also one of the folks that worked really hard to create a regional homelessness authority.” 

As a woman with experience in several sectors and a leader in our community, Smith offered some advice to young women pursuing a goal or career. 

“In my journey, it's really been about trusting myself and believing that I was good enough for the roles I wanted. At the same time, you should always be working to master your craft by listening to people and practicing. I mentioned before that I feel like others really opened doors for me, but I didn't wait for them to give me a road map before stepping through that door. Try to always be curious and embrace the challenges you face.” 

Currently, Smith serves on the board of United Way of King County, the Association of Washington Business, and the Seattle Sports Commission. Since 2021, Smith has been an active member of Seattle 4 Rotary. 

"I'm very humbled to be honored with this award,” said Smith. “I’m just a girl from Oklahoma being honored as a Legend. To be honored by such amazing institutions like OL Reign and Starbucks, who contribute so much to our region, makes me feel really fortunate. 

“To wrap it up, I guess I would just say thank you again for this honor. I also really want to recognize and thank everybody in our region for their contributions to making this place great. I encourage everyone to keep it up. Together, we can solve problems, seize opportunities and we can win big for our community.”