Linda Smith
Director of Policy
Policy, Early childhood financing, Workforce compensation
Areas of Expertise
- Policy
- Early childhood financing
- Workforce compensation
Biography
Linda Smith is the director of policy at the Buffett Institute, with a specific focus on military, rural, and tribal child care, early childhood financing, and engaging the business community in child care initiatives nationwide. In addition to her role at the Institute, Smith has an appointment as professor of education and early childhood development at the Munroe-Meyer Institute at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.
Most recently, she served as director of the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Early Childhood Development Initiative. Prior to that, she was deputy assistant secretary for early childhood development in the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and executive director for the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies (NACCRRA), where she represented more than 650 community-based agencies.
Featured Publications
In the shadows: What we know, don’t know and should know about the child care workforce [Report]. Smith, L. K., Belcher-Badal, K., Reef, G., & Owen, R. (2024, April). Bipartisan Policy Center.
Top-down, bottom-up: building a state child care center workforce [Report]. Smith, L. K. & Osborn, C. (2024, March). Bipartisan Policy Center.
Invisible children, invisible families: A blueprint for supporting the child care needs of American Indian and Alaska Native families [Report]. Fabre, B., Grunewald, R., Smith, L. K., & Osborn, C. (2024, November). Bipartisan Policy Center.
Featured Presentations
What will it take to build a competent, stable child care workforce [Panel discussion]. Bipartisan Policy Center.
The business of child care: What it is – why it matters. [Virtual event]. (2020, October 8). National Press Foundation.
Spotlight on Education: Linda K. Smith. [Conference presentation]. (2015, February 19). Alabama Governor’s Early Childhood Education Leadership Summit, Montgomery, AL.
Media Coverage
Smart Start: A KET special report [Interview]. (2024, February 19). PBS.
Child care gaps in rural america threaten to undercut small communities. (2024, January 2). KFF Health News.
For Native Americans, unequal child care funding leaves tribes in need. (2022, July 28). EdSurge.
The importance of child care in the military and the country [News segment]. (2022, January 29). State of Affairs with Steve Abudato. NJ PBS.
Five reasons to support investments in child care facilities [Opinion piece]. (2021, April 27). Roll Call.
Let’s put politics aside for the wellbeing of America’s children and families [Opinion piece]. (2019, March 13). The Hill.
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