Dr. Elizabeth C. Smith has a BA in Communication Arts from Villanova University, an MPA in Conservation Policy from Columbia University, and a PhD in Environmental and Natural Resource Economics from the University of Rhode Island. Her career in conservation has spanned both non-profit and academic sectors. From 2003 to 2008, she worked for the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society, where she assisted with grant writing and evaluated programs and policies. She spent the next five years in Rhode Island, focusing on a variety of topics of concern to coastal areas, including economic valuation of ecosystem restoration and watershed management plans.
For the last five years, Liz has been an environmental economist at The Nature Conservancy, where she has been developing strategies and policy recommendations for conservation in local bays, estuaries, and Long Island Sound, among others. In her role there, she briefed lawmakers on Capitol Hill on natural infrastructure and protecting our nation’s coastlines. Recently, she was an invited speaker on nitrogen pollution and the role of water quality improvements in improving real estate values at the Restore America’s Estuaries conference in Stony Brook.
Liz’s knowledge and experience in environmental policies and their relation to the economics of coastal communities make her a highly qualified candidate for Southold Town Trustee. Drawn to the North Fork for its maritime and agricultural beauty as well its close-knit and caring communities, Liz and her partner Noah live in Greenport with their two dogs. She is a member of Greenport’s Conservation Advisory Council, where she helps businesses and homeowners navigate wetland regulations and village code. She is also on the Peconic Estuary Program Technical Advisory Committee and is co-founder and organizer of Greenport’s Annual Turkey Trot, benefitting local organizations such as CAST and NFAWL.