Taiya Smith

Taiya Smith (@garnetstrat) is a Senior Associate at E3G and CEO and Co-Founder of Phylleos, Inc., a cloud  native information ecosystem designed to help corporate and government decision makers  understand complex global supply chains and outcomes with unprecedented detail and speed. 

Previously, Smith managed the China Program at the Climate Leadership Council. As a  Managing Partner at Garnet Strategies, she advised multinational companies, financial  institutions, and trade associations on climate and energy policy, U.S.-China relations,  geopolitical risk, and matters arising in global forums. She also served as an expert advisor to  U.S. Special Envoy for Climate Change Todd Stern in the lead up to the Paris Accord.  

In service to the United States government, Smith was Deputy Chief of Staff and Executive  Secretary to U.S. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson. At Treasury, Smith led the U.S. — China  Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED), a cabinet level bilateral dialogue. She managed the U.S.  negotiating team across seven government departments and established the U.S. – China Ten  Year Framework on Energy and the Environment and the EcoPartnership program, both of which  served as the platform for U.S.- China cooperation on climate change across U.S.  administrations.  

Prior to Treasury, Smith served as special assistant to Deputy Secretary of State Robert B.  Zoellick advising on for Africa, Europe, and political/military affairs. She was the State  Department’s point person on Darfur, spending much of her time in Darfur working with  international donors, the Sudanese government and rebel factions. Before joining government,  Smith worked with the facilitation team for the Burundi Peace Negotiations led by Nelson  Mandela working on establishing a ceasefire between waring factions. 

Taiya holds a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a M.P.P. from the Kennedy School of  Government. She is also a Senior Non-resident Senior Affiliate at the Center for International  Studies, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the National Committee on United  States-China Relations. Taiya is a regular speaker on China, climate change, and the U.S.-China  relationship. An avid horse rider, mountaineer, and aspiring alpine skier, Smith resides with her husband and three children at their farm in Rappahannock County, Virginia. Smith is also on LinkedIn.