Linda Smith
Executive Director

Linda Smith is Executive Director of the Los Angeles Minority Business Center for the City of Los Angeles, in the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Economic Development. In this capacity, she manages the day-to-day operations of the Center, providing leadership and direction to the team of five business development professionals.

In her former position, she was the executive vice president of FAME Renaissance Business Development Division, a nationally exclaimed community development program affiliated with First AME Church of Los Angeles. Her responsibilities included overseeing the program’s strategic direction and fund development. These programs provided a comprehensive approach to entrepreneurial development through business incubation, debt and equity funds and training. FAME Renaissance began operations in 1992 and is a non-profit 501(c)(3) corporation engaged in community economic development.

Ms. Smith supervised all FAME’s business development programs, including a business incubator entrepreneurial training, small business loan and equity funds that provided $10 million in capital to small businesses. Ms. Smith also served as a Director for the FAME Renaissance Equity Fund. Additionally, Ms. Smith served as project chair for the development of the FAME Renaissance Center, a 48,000 square foot business incubator facility.

Ms. Smith is a graduate of California State University at Los Angeles where she earned a B.S. Degree in Business Administration and Finance. She has over 17 years of commercial lending experience, including five years of commercial real estate lending.

Ms. Smith currently serves as the National Treasurer for the Urban Financial Services Coalition. She is active with the local chapter were she served as past Chapter President. Past Professional affiliations include- Los Angeles Junior Chamber of Commerce, National Council of Negro Women, the Ketchum Downtown YMCA Annual Fund Raising Campaign and the Pacific Coast Regional State Loan Guarantee Program.