Senator Will Smith

William Colonel Smith Jr., known as Will Smith, was born on February 6, 1982, in Silver Spring, Maryland. He attended The Barrie School in Silver Spring, Maryland, and later went on to attend the College of William and Mary, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in government in 2004 and his Juris Doctor degree in 2009. He also attended Johns Hopkins University, earning a Master of Arts degree in government in 2006, and National Intelligence University, earning a Master of Science of Strategic Intelligence degree in 2018.

Smith enlisted in the military following the September 11 attacks. He was deployed to Afghanistan with the 1st Armored Division as part of Operation Resolute Support from March to October 2019, attaining the rank of lieutenant commander in the U.S. Navy Reserve. While deployed, Smith assisted with the country’s 2019 presidential election and monitored peace talks between the Taliban and the United States in Doha, Qatar.

In 2005, Smith started Youth Achieve Inc., a youth development nonprofit. As of 2023, he currently serves on the board of directors of multiple organizations, including Gandhi Brigade, the GapBuster Learning Center, and Impact Silver Spring.

Smith was sworn into the Maryland Senate on December 21, 2016, and was elected to a full four-year term in 2018. He is the first Black person to represent Montgomery County in the Maryland Senate. Smith has served in the Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee during his entire tenure.

In the Senate, Will has worked to forge relationships with his colleagues from across the state and political spectrum which has allowed him to become an effective legislator in Annapolis. He has served on several committees and task forces, including the Joint Committee on the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Critical Area, the Maryland Sexual Assault Evidence Kit Policy and Funding Committee, the Maryland Military Installation Council, and the Maryland Police Training and Standards Commission.