Dr. Penny R. Smith, Alegria founder and CEO, is a 17 year government and higher education administrator, professor and former board member of non-profit organizations that address violence against women. She is also a published author on the topic as well as a survivor of date rape and domestic violence . Dr. Smith is experienced in leading organizations with large budgets and staff. In her role as Commissioner of Kentucky’s workforce development agency she lead a $33M dollar IT project to completion while serving over 1000 staff with a $800 Million budget. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor of Family and Community Medicine in the College of Medicine at Northeast Ohio Medical University. She is passionate about being an innovator of solutions to prevent violence against women.